DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17058348
title: Westcountry Demonstrator solutions monitoring data for R. Axe and R. Camel Catchments_July 2025

description: TransformAr: Westcountry Demonstrator -  Monitoring Dec 2024 – July 2025 

This data set includes water quality and catchment monitoring data for the River Axe (Devon, UK) and River Camel (Cornwall, UK). Catchment water quality and ecological monitoring supports the development and assessment of Nature Based Solutions to mitigate nutrient loadings in vulnerable Nutrient Neutrality catchments.  

This data set includes primarily post NBS intervention monitoring data to assess the performance of the solutions with sampling dates clearly marked. 

Several types of data are included:

TransformAr: KPI 20.1

J484 Chubbs Farm Comparative Ecological Assessment

J484 Penvose Comparative Ecological Assessment

J484 Trethick Farm Comparative Ecological Assessment

1.       UK Habitat Survey – A standardised approach to defining UK terrestrial and freshwater habitats, primarily based on botanical survey. 

Habitat Condition Assessment Survey – Method used in biodiversity net gain assessment for town planning purposes. 

Botanical species diversity and abundance, and presence of notable (protected) species.

The surveys were conducted within a 30m buffer zone of the delivery area/ equivalent control area.

TransformAr: KPI 20.2 

202507_KPI 20.2 WRT Electric fishing data

2.       Electric fishing uses a controlled electric current to induce fish to swim towards an anode and into a hand net to be counted and assessed. When carried out correctly by a qualified surveyor it is not harmful to fish. An electric fishing backpack is used as the best method to target salmonoids in the Westcountry. 

More information can be found here: https://issuu.com/westcountryriverstrust/docs/wrt_ef_2022_report_camel

TransformAr: KPI 20.3

202507_KPI 20.3 EA WIMS Baseline WQ data

3.         UK Environment Agency statutory monitoring data is included where relevant to add a valuable comparative data set.  

More information can be found at: https://environment.data.gov.uk/water-quality/view/landing

TransformAr: KPI 20.4 

202507_KPI 20.4 WRT WQ monitoring data.xls

4.       Westcountry Rivers Trust in-house monthly spot monitoring: This high specification field-data provides both catchment scale monitoring and targeted monitoring at NBS intervention sites. Data storage Platform: Cartographer

Equipment used: Hach DR900 Robust portable datalogging colourimeter: Hach Pocket pro+ Multi 2 Tester

5.       Westcountry Rivers Trust in-house continuous water quality: This high specification field-data provided targeted monitoring at NBS intervention sites. The sondes were set to 15 minute measurement intervals for electrical conductivity (as a proxy for dissolved pollution), depth and temperature and reading were averaged daily for analysis. 

Equipment used: AquaTROLL 200 Multi-parameter sonde (In-Situ Ltd). with VuLink telemetry device (In-Situ Ltd.); DropletSens™ Phosphate Probe (SouthWestSensors) with a Point Green telemetry unity (Metasphere). 

6.       Westcountry Citizen Science Investigations: Volunteers use simple low-cost equipment to record quantitative and semi-quantitative information on temperature, electrical conductivity, turbidity and phosphate (semi-quantitative). Despite the lower accuracy of the equipment, these data provide a valuable baseline and excellent spatial coverage of our target catchments. Data storage Platform: Cartographer. More information on CSI can be found at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/83c5528afaba4b37813be5f6cdb5af22 

Equipment used: HM Digital TDS-4TM probe: La Motte Insta-Test Low Range Test Strips; turbidity tube (Secchi disk) 

TransformAr: KPI 20.6- 20.9 

202507_KPI 20.6-20.9 Soils and Sediments Analysis

7.       Where possible soil nutrient and soil organic matter samples were taken at intervention sites using industry recognized protocols  https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/measuring-soil-nutrients-ph-and-organic-matter . This was to gather a baseline of the phosphate (P), potash (K), pH and soil organic matter (SOM) and compare with post intervention data. Not all sites had pre intervention data. Some sites required sediments to be trapped by the NBS interventions prior to analysis, and therefore pre and post comparisons were not possible.