Selected publications
Taking the environment's pulse: NERC Planet Earth
An article in NERC's Planet Earth magazine on 20 years of observation and research at the ECN's terrestrial sites.
Atmospheric deposition of phosphorus to land and freshwater
The authors compiled published and newly-obtained data the atmospheric deposition of phosphorus to open land, lakes, and marine coasts. The resulting global data base includes data for c. 250 sites, covering the period 1954 to 2012, and including ECN-collected data from 10 ECN sites.
A chronosequence study of soil nutrient status under oak and Corsican pine with Ellenberg assessed ground vegetation changes
The objectives of this study were (a) to compare the Ellenberg values derived from the ground flora under both broadleaf and conifer stands in the same forest area, against measured soil and forest environmental factors and (b) to investigate the suggestion from the ground flora analysis that significant changes occur in soil character with forest stand age. The authors used a chronosequence approach, piecing together different datasets to construct a picture of change in condition under two types of trees, oaks and Corsican pines. Ellenberg indices based on data from ECN vegetation plots at Alice Holt forest were used, and compared with a range of soil parameters.
Resilience of upland soils to long-term environmental changes
The authors surveyed the effect of environmental change on mountain soils. They found that soils were resistant to large changes in the environmental pressures experienced and conclude that upland soils may be more resilient to environmental change than previously thought. This study was conducted at Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), North Wales and used some ECN data.
Using long-term ecosystem service and biodiversity data to study the impacts and adaptation options in response to climate change: insights from the global ILTER sites network
Long-term research forms the basis for detecting global ecosystem trends. The International LTER network (ILTER) has access to unique global-scale datasets and results. Through an analysis of LTER publications and case studies of research, this paper considers the importance of the ILTER network in the study and monitoring of environmental changes at a global level.
Experimental evidence for the interacting effects of forest edge, moisture and soil macrofauna on leaf litter decomposition
This paper investigates the effects of forest fragmentation, soil moisture, soil macrofauna and litter quality on the rate of leaf litter decomposition, an important ecosystem process. The authors test the hypothesis that decomposition will be slower at the edge of a forest compared with the interior, due to the lower soil moisture at the forest's edge.
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in UK soils and the influence of soil, vegetation type and seasonality
In this paper the authors relate soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations to abiotic factors such as temperature, rainfall and soil properties.
Large carabid beetle declines in a United Kingdom monitoring network increases evidence for a widespread loss in insect biodiversity
This paper present trends in the abundance of carabid (or ground) beetles at 11 terrestrial ECN sites over a 15 year period.
Continent-wide response of mountain vegetation to climate change
This paper, in the journal Nature Climate Change, is based on analyses of data from mountain-top locations across Europe, including ECN Cairngorms.
The UK Environmental Change Network: Emerging trends in the composition of plant and animal communities and the physical environment
The first major review of trends in terrestrial ecology at twelve key sites within the UK Environmental Change Network between 1993 and 2007, published in Biological Conservation
