The Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is the United Kingdoms Centre of Excellence for integrated research in hydrology, terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. As part of the
Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), it provides services based on innovative, independent and interdisciplinary science and long-term
environmental monitoring, forming an integral part of NERCs strategy.
The Centre for
Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) is a world-class research organisation focusing on land and freshwater ecosystems and their interaction with the atmosphere. Uniquely, CEH integrates UK-wide observation systems and curiosity driven research, from the smallest scale of
genetic diversity to large-scale, whole-Earth systems. It works across disciplines and facilitate academic, public, private and voluntary sector partnerships. CEH’s extensive, long-term monitoring, analysis and modelling deliver UK and global environmental data, providing early warnings of change and
management solutions for our land and freshwaters. It conducts research all over the world. They contain main sites in the UK and partners throughout Europe and the rest of the world, they are well-placed to collaborate with international governments, bodies, businesses, and NGOs. Their health, security and societal development are dependent on securing the value of nature, building resilience to environmental hazards and managing environmental change. These major societal and environmental challenges drive their research. CEH’s independent, impartial science underpins UK and international environmental policies and innovation in the commercial sector for sustainable economic growth.
Research facilities are state-of-the-art. They play a vital role in the integrated terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems science and investigate everything from radiation in freshwater to bacteria in soil. The facilities below are used to further CEH science and are open for contract use by business, policy and
civil society partners. They operate a national network of monitoring stations in diverse habitats including lowlands, uplands, wetlands, lakes, rivers, forests and heaths. Scientists use the sites in a variety of projects and they have accumulated decades of detailed data, from wild bird populations on the Isle of May to water quality of freshwater lakes. This has a practical purpose: in-depth, local information is the first step in making sustainable
management policies.
Some of their monitoring sites are available for use by the wider environmental research community. This is a major custodian of environmental data, including 20 million records of 12,000
species occurring across Britain and Ireland, as well as records of over 50,000 station years of daily and monthly river flow data, derived from over 1,300 gauging stations throughout the UK. They are engaged in major international networks, such as the Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER) and the EurAqua Network of European Freshwater Research Organisations. They also lead European and global research efforts including the International Cooperative Programme on Effects of
Air Pollution on Natural Vegetation and Crops and NitroEurope. Their unique combination of cross-cutting scientific expertise, long-term
environmental monitoring and state-of-the-art research infrastructure enable them to deliver practicable solutions so that future generations can benefit from a rich and healthy environment.
Last Updated on: Nov 27, 2024