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openCC (other)Feb 2024View details →

Forest tree, woody debris, root ingrowth, soil respiration and characterization data from long-term research plots for LTREB at the University of Michigan Biological Station

The NSF-funded project "LTREB: Drivers of temperate forest carbon storage from canopy closure through successional time" (2014-2024) supports research to meet the following goals: 1) elucidate mechanisms responsible for changes in C storage over decades to centuries; 2) link processes leading to persistence and resilience of forest C storage following disturbance; 3) quantify the effects of potential drivers such as forest structure, N availability, climate change, and atmospheric deposition on decadal and longer-term trajectories of C storage. Field activities for this research are conducted at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) on a pair of chronosequences and several old reference forests. Synthesis activities utilize data collected from these field sites in support of the LTREB project, as well as data synthesized from other sources (e.g., long-term UMBS plot data, AmeriFlux data, FIA data) all intended to address the core questions of the LTREB project. This dataset has been compiled and expanded over a series of versions, with new data types and observations appended periodically. Presently, the dataset includes observations from tree inventory censuses, woody debris sampling, fine root ingrowth cores, soil respiration measurements, and two sets of soil collections aimed at quantifying a range of physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil.

openCC (other)Jun 2025View details →

Marcell Experimental Forest seasonal soil moisture, 1966 - ongoing

This data publication contains available soil water measured three times a year (1966 - ongoing) at the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF) in Balsam Township, Itasca County, Minnesota. The data came from six peatland / upland forest watersheds instrumented for long-term hydrological and biogeochemical research. The Marcell Experimental Forest in Itasca County, Minnesota is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, and was formally established in 1962 to study the ecology and hydrology of peatlands.

openCC (other)Feb 2023View details →

Summary of soil temperature, moisture, and thaw depth for 14 chamber flux measurements sampled near Arctic LTER shrub sites at Toolik Field Station, Alaska, summer 2012.

Soil temperature at 5cm and 10cm depth, volumetric water content (VWC) and depth of thaw for 14 shrub canopy flux plots measured in vicinity of the Arctic LTER shrub site, Toolik Field Station, AK in 2012.

Long term response of arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features: A modeling analysis. Tussock tundra regrowth after a thermal erosion event: Simulation A - increased Phase II soil organic matter

The Multiple Element Limitation (MEL) model is used to simulate the recovery of Alaskan arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features (TEFs) caused by permafrost thaw and mass wasting. TEFs could be significant to regional carbon (C) and nutrient budgets because permafrost soils contain large stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) and TEFs are expected to become more frequent as climate warms. These simulations deal only with recovery following TEF stabilization and do not address initial losses of C and nutrients during TEF formation. To capture the variability among and within TEFs, we simulate a range of post-stabilization conditions by varying the initial size of SOM pools and nutrient supply rates. This file contains the results for 100 years of tussock tundra recovery after a thermal erosion event. This simulation is of TEF recovery with increased Phase II soil organic matter compared to the base simulation. Data is presented for day 250 of each year.

Long term response of arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features: A modeling analysis. Tussock tundra regrowth after a thermal erosion event: Simulation C - increased Phase I and Phase II soil organic matter

The Multiple Element Limitation (MEL) model is used to simulate the recovery of Alaskan arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features (TEFs) caused by permafrost thaw and mass wasting. TEFs could be significant to regional carbon (C) and nutrient budgets because permafrost soils contain large stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) and TEFs are expected to become more frequent as climate warms. These simulations deal only with recovery following TEF stabilization and do not address initial losses of C and nutrients during TEF formation. To capture the variability among and within TEFs, we simulate a range of post-stabilization conditions by varying the initial size of SOM pools and nutrient supply rates. This file contains the results for 100 years of tussock tundra recovery after a thermal erosion event. This simulation is of TEF recovery with increased Phase I and Phase II soil organic matter compared to the base simulation. Data is presented for day 250 of each year.

Long term response of arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features: A modeling analysis. Tussock tundra regrowth after a thermal erosion event: Simulation D - reduced Phase I and Phase II soil organic matter

The Multiple Element Limitation (MEL) model is used to simulate the recovery of Alaskan arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features (TEFs) caused by permafrost thaw and mass wasting. TEFs could be significant to regional carbon (C) and nutrient budgets because permafrost soils contain large stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) and TEFs are expected to become more frequent as climate warms. These simulations deal only with recovery following TEF stabilization and do not address initial losses of C and nutrients during TEF formation. To capture the variability among and within TEFs, we simulate a range of post-stabilization conditions by varying the initial size of SOM pools and nutrient supply rates. This file contains the results for 100 years of tussock tundra recovery after a thermal erosion event. This simulation is of TEF recovery with reduced Phase I and Phase II soil organic matter compared to the base simulation. Data is presented for day 250 of each year. .

Long term response of arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features: A modeling analysis. Tussock tundra regrowth after a thermal erosion event: Simulation B - increased Phase I soil organic matter

The Multiple Element Limitation (MEL) model is used to simulate the recovery of Alaskan arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features (TEFs) caused by permafrost thaw and mass wasting. TEFs could be significant to regional carbon (C) and nutrient budgets because permafrost soils contain large stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) and TEFs are expected to become more frequent as climate warms. These simulations deal only with recovery following TEF stabilization and do not address initial losses of C and nutrients during TEF formation. To capture the variability among and within TEFs, we simulate a range of post-stabilization conditions by varying the initial size of SOM pools and nutrient supply rates. This file contains the results for 100 years of tussock tundra recovery after a thermal erosion event. This simulation is of TEF recovery with increased Phase I soil organic matter compared to the base simulation. Data is presented for day 250 of each year.

Long term response of arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features: A modeling analysis. Tussock tundra regrowth after a thermal erosion event: Simulation E - reduced Phase I soil organic matter

The Multiple Element Limitation (MEL) model is used to simulate the recovery of Alaskan arctic tussock tundra to thermal erosion features (TEFs) caused by permafrost thaw and mass wasting. TEFs could be significant to regional carbon (C) and nutrient budgets because permafrost soils contain large stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) and TEFs are expected to become more frequent as climate warms. These simulations deal only with recovery following TEF stabilization and do not address initial losses of C and nutrients during TEF formation. To capture the variability among and within TEFs, we simulate a range of post-stabilization conditions by varying the initial size of SOM pools and nutrient supply rates. This file contains the results for 100 years of tussock tundra recovery after a thermal erosion event. This simulation is of TEF recovery with decreasing Phase I soil organic matter compared to the base simulation. Data is presented for day 250 of each year.

openCC (other)Oct 2025View details →

Air temperature and humidity, and soil temperature data from the Arctic LTER Moist Non-acidic Tussock Experimental plots (MNT97), Toolik Lake Field Station, Alaska, 1999-2025.

In 1999, a Campbell CR10x data logger was installed in block 2 of the Arctic LTER Toolik Moist Non-acidic Tussock Experimental plots(MNT97). The plots are located on a hillside near Toolik Lake (68 38' N, 149 36'W). Air temperature and relative humidity were measured at 3 meters (control), and inside the greenhouse, and fertilized greenhouse. Soil temperatures were measured with thermocouples placed in control, fertilized, greenhouse, and fertilized-greenhouse plots.

openCC (other)Mar 2022View details →

Biogeochemistry data set for soil waters, streams, and lakes near Toolik Lake on the North Slope of Alaska, 2012 through 2020

Data file of the biogeochemistry of samples collected at various sites near Toolik Lake, North Slope of Alaska. Sample site descriptors include a unique assigned number (sortchem), site, date, time, depth, distance (downstream from a reference location), elevation, treatment, date-time, category, and water type (lake, surface, soil). Physical measures collected in the field include temperature (water, soil, well water), conductivity, pH, and average thaw depth in soil. Chemical analyses for the sample include alkalinity; dissolved inorganic and organic carbon (DIC and DOC); dissolved gases CO2 and CH4; inorganic and total dissolved nutrients (NH4, PO4, NO3, TDN, TDP); particulate carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus (PC, PN, and PP); cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K, and Si); and anions (SO4 and Cl).

openCC (other)Oct 2024View details →

Soil biogeochemical variables collected on the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research (ARC LTER) experimental plots in moist acidic and dry heath tundra, Arctic LTER, Toolik Field Station, Alaska 2017.

**Note: Versions 1 and 2 had the wrong data files.** Soil nutrients (total Carbon and Nitrogen, inorganic nutrients (ammonium ion (NH4), nitrate anion (NO3-), phosphate anion (PO43-)); organic nutrients (extractable organic carbon (EOC), extractable total nitrogen (ETN), extractable organic phosphorus (EOP)), microbial biomass, and extracellular enzyme activity on soils sampled from the Arctic LTER Dry Heath (organic soils only) and Moist Acidic Tundra (organic and mineral soils) herbivore exclosures and control plots at Toolik Lake, AK in July 2017.

openCC0Apr 2024View details →

Composition and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter leached from eroding coastal soils and permafrost in seawater, from Drew Point, Alaska

Eroding permafrost coastlines export significant quantities of organic carbon (OC) to the marine environment, similar in magnitude to riverine particulate OC fluxes to the Arctic Ocean. Moreover, erosion rates are predicted to increase due to warming temperatures, declines in sea ice, and increasing waves. While erosion primarily mobilizes organic matter in the particulate form, this material can be leached to dissolved organic matter (DOM). This DOM may be incorporated by microbial communities and fuel marine food webs or decomposed to form greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. Many studies show that permafrost-derived organic matter can be rapidly decomposed in soils and freshwater, but few studies examine the fate of permafrost organic matter in seawater. To address this knowledge gap, we designed a laboratory experiment to leach coastal soils and permafrost in seawater and examine the composition and biodegradability of leached DOM. Coastal soil/sediment was cored near Drew Point, Alaska in 2019, representing three horizons found within rapidly eroding permafrost bluffs: seasonally thawed active layer soils, Holocene terrestrial soils and/or lacustrine sediments, and late-Pleistocene relict marine sediments. To measure dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leaching yields, we placed soil/sediments in Beaufort Sea seawater for 24 hours before filtering to remove particulates. To measure biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC), we conducted an aerobic incubation experiment following the methods suggested by Vonk et al. (2015). Briefly, leachates were incubated at approximately room temperature for 26 and 90 days to measure DOC loss due to remineralization and/or incorporation into microbial biomass. Additionally, we used chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) measurements and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) to examine the initial leachate DOM composition. References: Vonk, J. E., Tank, S. E., Mann, P. J., Spencer, R. G. M., Tre

openCC0May 2023View details →

Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) derived from 2019 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data for the central Arizona region

This project calculates two vegetation indices—Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) remotely sensed imagery. The intent is to make remotely sensed variables and visualizations accessible to stakeholders and researchers studying the Phoenix metropolitan area. NDVI and SAVI are calculated from the 2019 NAIP imagery (1m resolution). This dataset extends the 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017 NDVI and SAVI products derived from NAIP imagery (also 1m resolution). All images are cropped to the CAP study area boundary.

openCC (other)Aug 2025View details →

Multiple Element Limitation in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE): Soil respiration at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Bartlett Experimental Forest and Jeffers Brook, central NH USA, 2008 - present

Abstract Soil respiration in 15 stands across 3 sites within the White Mountain National Forest was measured between 2008 and 2020. Stands included in the dataset are part of the Multiple Element in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE) study, a full-factorial NxP fertilization experiment. Pre- and post-treatment data are included, with treatment beginning in 2011. Soil temperature, soil moisture, and relative air humidity at the time of measurement were also recorded next to or above the soil respiration collar at the time of the soil respiration measurement. Having been cut between 1883 and 1990, stands are representative of different successional stages.

openCC (other)Jan 2026View details →

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: Soil Fungal Communities, 2021-2023

Sporocarp (fungal fruiting body) observational data and fungal eDNA data extracted from soil samples collected primarily by Farrar Ransom in the summers of 2021, 2022, and 2023. Also included: detailed site metadata, soil moisture measurements, sample processing metadata, and R code used in publication analysis. Data are still being uploaded as of January 2026. The majority of these data were collected in study plots established around 2016 by Dr. Elizabeth Studer for her dissertation work. This factorial study design consists of approximately 60 plots on two hydropedological soil types beneath four canopy tree species. The four tree species we considered were white ash (Fraxinus americana), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis). Some of these plots are now part of the ongoing Ash Protection Experiment. The following data tables and other entities were used in the analysis for the publication: Unique soil fungal communities are associated with disappearing ash trees in a northern temperate hardwood forest. Site_Metadata; eDNA_Abun_Table; eDNA_Taxa_Metadata; eDNA_Extraction_Metadata; iNext_Format_eDNA; Sporocarp_Count_Table; Sporocarp_Prop_Table; Soil_Moisture_Measurements; PCR_Plate_Gel_Photos; FR_DADA2_PlusFilter_CodePub; FR_eDNA_CodePub; FR_Sporocarp_CodePub; These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.

Soil Respiration in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2003-2009

Soil respiration (SR) is a combination of autotrophic (root respiration) and heterotrophic (microbial respiration). As a combination of these two belowground processes, separating their relative contributions to SR from is difficult. The hemlock removal experiment provided an opportunity to look at these two components of SR. Girdling and logging result in the death and/or removal of aboveground biomass (trees) and subsequently death of root biomass. As a result the measured respiration in these treatment plots should then be comprised primarily of the microbial respiration component of SR. By measuring SR in control plots, and taking the difference with girdled and logged plots, we may determine the relative contribution of root and microbial respiration.

Soil Properties in CRUI Land Use Project at Harvard Forest 1995-1998

Soil properties and processes were evaluated on three types of colonial agricultural land-use - plowing, pasturing, and selective tree removal in a woodlot that ceased in the mid to late 1800s. Plowing, the most intensive type of agricultural disturbance, mixes soil to a depth of approximately 15cm, homogenizing the soil resources and likely reducing diversity in microenvironments. Removing trees and replacing them with grasses for pasture decreases the organic matter amount and types of inputs to the system, decreasing resource diversity. Woodlots, altered by selective and chronic tree removal, would have more limited decreases in resources and microenvironments. This study defines forest soil legacies using data from plots located at Harvard Forest in both amounts of soil resources and spatial heterogeneity of those soil resources. We found that for several soil parameters measured on previously cultivated and preciously pastured lands at the Harvard Forest, a legacy exists in the mineral soil, but the forest floor appears to have largely recovered from the agricultural disturbance. Parameters examined included soil mass, bulk density, organic matter content, pH, C, N, nitrogen mineralization and nitrification, Ca, Mg, K, and P.

Soil Respiration in CRUI Land Use Project at Harvard Forest 1997

Soil properties and processes were evaluated on three types of colonial agricultural land-use - plowing, pasturing, and selective tree removal in a woodlot that ceased in the mid to late 1800s. Plowing, the most intensive type of agricultural disturbance, mixes soil to a depth of approximately 15cm, homogenizing the soil resources and likely reducing diversity in microenvironments. Removing trees and replacing them with grasses for pasture decreases the organic matter amount and types of inputs to the system, decreasing resource diversity. Woodlots, altered by selective and chronic tree removal, would have more limited decreases in resources and microenvironments. This study examined soil surface (at 10cm above the soil surface) CO2 concentrations and soil respiration at the land use sites. Soil respiration and surface CO2 concentrations were highest in the woodlot sites and lowest in the formerly plowed sites.

Soil Respiration at Harvard Forest HEM and LPH Towers 1996-2007

Soil respiration, including both CO2 produced during decomposition of organic matter in soil and surface litter, and CO2 produced during respiration of living roots, is a major component of forest-atmosphere carbon exchange, typically comprising 60 to 80% of whole-forest respiration. Soil respiration data can explain a major part of a forest ecosystem’s response to changing climate, and help in evaluating the accuracy of nighttime eddy flux data as estimates of whole-ecosystem respiration measurements. Soil respiration in the footprint areas of the Harvard Forest Hemlock and Little Prospect Hill eddy flux towers has shown generally similar responses to soil temperature and precipitation as soil respiration near the EMS flux tower (see data set HF006), but also some differences. Soil respiration at the Hemlock tower site has been lower than at the other tower sites during very wet summer weather, but higher during dry summer periods. Average estimated annual total soil respiration has been close to the same for all three tower footprint areas, however. There has been some evidence of lower soil respiration in the parts of the Little Prospect Hill tower footprint with lowest soil moisture (those with a high slope position, 100 m from the tower), as compared with other sites during very dry summer periods, but such periods have been very rare during the period of data collection. Soil respiration measured near the Little Prospect Hill tower in summer has also been higher than ecosystem respiration as estimated from nighttime carbon flux measured by an eddy covariance system. This indicates that during some nighttime periods, CO2 is being removed from the volume of air below the eddy flux system by a route other than through the top of the forest canopy near the flux tower, possibly by downslope advection, even under conditions when it initially appeared that atmospheric turbulence was high enough to prevent removal of CO2 by these other mechanisms.

Soil Water Content at Harvard Forest HEM and LPH Towers 1998-2007

Water content of the top 20 cm of soil was measured using 1.5 inch diameter soil cores. Soil water content is of particular interest and importance in explaining patterns of soil respiration (including root respiration) and ecosystem respiration, 60 to 75% of which occurs below the ground surface at Harvard Forest. Soil water content in deciduous forest near the Little Prospect Hill Forest was in general found to be more variable than near the Hemlock tower. One influence contributing to this is the presence of a water table within 1 m of the soil surface near the hemlock tower, compared to a water table at unknown depth in the deeply drained soils in most parts of Little Prospect Hill. Relatively low evapotranspiration at the Hemlock tower site during the period when deciduous trees are foliated also contributes to higher water content in soil there, and a relatively thick surface organic layer. These influences tend to maintain soil respiration at higher levels in the hemlock forest during dry summers, but excessive moisture in the soil at the Hemlock site during very wet summers appears to suppress soil respiration.