Environmental Change Network

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ECN Database

The ECN database is an integrated information resource, which stores all data and meta-data from ECN’s core measurements collected at its network of sites.  These data, along with other historic data from ECN sites, are held in standardised structures in order to support the cross-disciplinary analyses necessary for environmental change research.  The database uses the Oracle RDBMS with links to Arc GIS  for spatial data handling and is maintained and developed by the ECN Central Co-ordination Unit.  Data are regularly sent in from sites and are quality assured before being lodged in the database; a system of quality flags and codes ensures that the data are properly qualified in the meta-database.

Availability of data is central to ECN’s success as a resource for environmental research, policy purposes and public information.  ECN promotes the use of its data through a number of different data access methods, including targeted data products, web developments and events to suit a range of users from scientists and policy-makers to students and the general public. Data are made accessible according to the ECN data policy.  The 'Data and Information' pages provide a gateway to ECN data access.

For more information please see the ECN report, which provides a detailed description of the ECN information system. 

ECN also manages the central database for the NERC Soil Biodiversity Thematic Programme.

For further information on the ECN database and its access systems please see:

Rennie, S.C. (2007).  The ECN Information System.  ECN report.  Available online. 

Lane, A.M.J., Rennie, S.C. and Watkins, J.M. (2004).  Integrated Data Management for Environmental Monitoring Programmes.  In: Environmental monitoring, edited by G.B. Wiersma, 37-62. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Rennie, SC. and Jackson, D. (2001). Using environmental data on the Internet. Teaching Geography, 26(1), 33-35.

Rennie, SC., Lane, AMJ. and Wilson, M. (2000). Web Access to Environmental Databases: a Database Query and Presentation System for the UK Environmental Change Network.. Proceedings of the 2000 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, 2, 894-897.  Available online. 

Parr, TW. and Hirst, DJ. (1999). The UK Environmental Change network and the Internet: their role in detecting and interpreting environmental change. In: Advances in Sustainable Development. Environmental Indices: Systems Analysis Approach, EOLSS, 223-236.

Lane, AMJ. and Parr, TW. (1998). Providing Information on Environmental Change: Data management strategies and Internet access approaches within the UK Environmental Change Network. Proceedings of 10th International Conference on Scientific and Statistical Database Management, IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, California.

Lane, AMJ. (1997). The UK Environmental Change Network Database. An Integrated Information Resource for Long-term Monitoring and Research. Journal of Environmental Management, 51 (1), 87-105.