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openCC (other)Jun 2025View details →

Outdoor mesocosm study evaluating how mass, NaCl tolerance, and pesticide tolerance affect oxidative stress biomarkers (CAT, SOD, GR, GPx, TBARS) in larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) exposed to baseline and NaCl-contaminated conditions, 2019

Biomarkers of oxidative stress can aid in wildlife monitoring by allowing conservationists to detect sublethal environmental shifts. However, interpretation of stress responses can be complicated by multiple interacting factors (e.g., individual development, evolved physiological tolerance to stressors) which alter biomarker expression. Here, we investigated how individual ontogenetic traits and population-level tolerance traits influence oxidative stress responses under baseline and contaminated environmental conditions. For our model contaminant, we used NaCl (common freshwater contaminant due to factors such as coastal flooding, irrigation, airborne salt circulation, drought, runoff from road deicing salts). For our model wildlife populations, we used larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) from six noninteracting populations known to vary in two population-level tolerance traits: NaCl tolerance (calculated as average time to death from lethal NaCl exposure) and pesticide tolerance (determined by proxy of distance to agriculture - a consistent and highly repeatable relationship). At an outdoor research facility, R. sylvatica tadpoles were exposed to either baseline conditions (0 g/L NaCl added) or NaCl-contaminated conditions (1 g/L NaCl added for 21 days, then reduced to 0.5 g/L NaCl). Exposures were conducted in individual units with 40 replicates per population for each treatment. The experiment was terminated per individual to capture the full term of larval development (Developmental stage: Gosner stage 36), lasting between 33-48 days. For each individual, we measured mass, Snout-Vent-Length, and developmental stage before processing for biomarker expression. Individual homogenates were assayed for oxidative stress biomarkers superoxide dismutase (SOD; responsible for Reactive Oxygen Species capture and peroxide production), glutathione peroxidase (GPx; responsible for high-affinity peroxide reduction), catalase (CAT; responsible for low-affinity peroxide reducti

openCC0May 2025View details →

Barre Woods Soil Warming Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2001

Two of the major results of our original soil warming study were that: (1) warming stimulated the decay of a labile soil carbon pool; and (2) it also increased the availability of inorganic nitrogen to plants. Because of the small size of the original warming plots an important question we have not been able to answer conclusively is: Has the increase in available nitrogen led to an increase in carbon storage in the vegetation? And if yes, how much? In a systems context an additional question is: What is the balance between the carbon lost from the soil and the carbon stored in the vegetation in response to soil warming? We are now addressing these important questions with a new warming experiment in the Barre Woods area of the Harvard Forest. The Barre Woods site was chosen because of its similarities to the Prospect Hill site - stand age, tree species composition, and soil type. There is no evidence of a plow horizon at the Barre Woods site, though surrounding stone walls indicate past use as pastureland. Historical records indicate the site was destroyed during the 1938 hurricane and then regrew naturally. During the summer and fall of 2001 we buried 3.4 miles of heating cable in a 30 x 30m plot. Cables were buried at a 10cm depth, spaced 20cm apart. A second 30 x 30m area was delineated to serve as the control plot. Results from the original soil warming experiment confirmed that the soil disturbance associated with the installation of heating cables has had no effect on soil temperatures and only minor and variable impacts on soil moisture. In April 2002, we began a one-year period of baseline measurements before turning on the heat in the new megaplot. These measurements included nitrogen mineralization, trace gas fluxes (CO2, CH4, N2O), tree growth (dendrometer bands), an understory species survey, canopy foliage analysis (C:N, NIR), and lysimetry. Thermistors were installed in both plots to begin tracking soil temperatures. The baseline measurements have con

Detection Probability of Red Wood Ants in Friedenweiler, Germany 2015

Estimation of population sizes and species ranges is central to population and conservation biology. It is widely appreciated that imperfect detection of mobile animals must be accounted for when estimating population size from presence-absence data. Sessile organisms also are imperfectly detected, but correction for detection probability in estimating their population sizes is rare. We illustrate challenges of detection probability and population estimation of sessile organisms using censuses of red wood ant (Formica rufa-group) nests as a case study. These ants, widespread in the northern hemisphere, can make large (up to 2m tall), highly visible nests. Using data from a two-day mapping campaign by eight individuals of 147 ant nests spread across sixteen 3600-m2 plots in the Black Forest region of southwest Germany, we developed a Bayesian model for quantifying detection probability of sessile organisms. Detection probabilities by individual observers of red wood ant nests ranged from 0.31 – 0.56, and depended on experience of the observers, size and density of nests, and habitat characteristics. Robust estimation of population density of sessile organisms—even highly apparent ones such as red wood ant nests—requires unbiased estimation of detection probability, just as it does when estimating population density of rare or cryptic species.

Red Wood-Ant Nests and Fault-Related Methane Micro-Seepage 2016

We measured methane (CH4) and stable carbon isotope of methane (ẟ13C-CH4) concentrations in ambient air and within a red wood-ant (RWA; Formica polyctena) nest in the Neuwied Basin (Germany) using high-resolution in-situ sampling to detect microbial, thermogenic, and abiotic fault-related micro-seepage of CH4. Methane degassing from RWA nests was not synchronized with earth tides, nor was it influenced by micro-earthquake degassing or concomitantly measured RWA activity. Two ẟ13C-CH4 signatures were identified in nest gas: −69‰ and −37‰. The lower peak was attributed to microbial decomposition of organic matter within the RWA nest, in line with previous observations that RWA nests are hot-spots of microbial CH4. The higher peak has not been reported in previous studies. We attribute this peak to fault-related CH4 emissions moving via fault networks into the RWA nest, which could originate either from thermogenic or abiotic CH4 formation. Sources of these micro-seepages could be Devonian schists, iron-bearing “Klerf Schichten,” or overlapping micro-seepage of magmatic CH4 from the Eifel plume. Given the abundance of RWA nests on the landscape, their role as sources of microbial CH4 and biological indicators for abiotically-derived CH4 should be included in estimation of methane emissions that are contributing to climatic change.

Geogenic Gases in a Red Wood-Ant Nest and Soil in the Neuwied Basin, Germany 2016

Geochemical tracers of crustal fluids (CO2, He, Rn) provide a useful tool for the identification of buried fault structures. We acquired geochemical data during 7 months of continual sampling to identify causal processes underlying correlations between ambient air and degassing patterns of three gases (CO2, He, Rn) in a nest of red wood ants (Formica polyctena; “RWA”) and the soil at Goloring in the Neuwied Basin, a part of the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF). We explored whether temporal relations and degassing rhythms in soil and nest gas concentrations could be indicators of hidden faults through which the gases migrate to the surface from depth. In nest gas, the coupled system of CO2-He and He concentrations exceeding atmospheric standards 2-3 fold suggested that RWA nests may be biological indicators of hidden degassing faults and fractures at small scales. Equivalently periodic degassing infradian rhythms in the RWA nest, soil, and three nearby mineral springs suggested NW-SE and NE-SW tectonic linkages. Because volcanic activity in the EEVF is dormant, more detailed information on the EEVF’s tectonic, magmatic, and degassing systems and its active tectonic fault zones are needed. Such data could provide additional insights into earthquake processes that are related to magmatic processes at the lower crust.

Rhythms and Nocturnal Activities of Wood Ants in the Neuwied Basin, Germany 2010-2016

In situ activity patterns of two Formica-rufa group species (F. pratensis; F. polyctena) were continuously studied at four different red wood-ant nests during six months in each of the years 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016 and related to weather factors and variations of the Earth’s magnetic field. In situ activity patterns of both species are similarly periodic and exhibit ultradian, and short and long infradian rhythms under natural Light:Dark conditions. Crepuscular and nocturnal activities ≤ 4-hr long were observed in both species, especially at the new moon and first quarter after the astronomical twilight in a period of darkness in fall. We hypothesize that local variability in Earth’s magnetic field affects long-term activity patterns, whereas humidity and temperature were more strongly associated with ultradian rhythms (less than 20 hr).

White Pine Needle Decline in Walden Woods and Weston MA 2017-2018

White Pine Needle Decline (WPND) is a suite of four fungal pathogens that attack third, second and in extreme cases first year needles of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Premature needle shedding reduces photosynthetic activity and in turn reduces growth rates and overall health of the eastern white pine, an ecologically and economically valuable species in the Northeast United States. Our long-term forest dynamics plots in Weston and Walden Woods are ideal for monitoring these pathogens’ effects on overstory and understory pine. The unique aspect of our study sites is the dense population of understory pine. Many of our plots are typical old-field white pine stands and are densely stocked from lack of cutting. Densely stocked stands have been shown to be more affected by WPND than more open stands (McIntire, 2017).

Nonstructural Carbon, Phenology and Wood Formation in Three Tree Species at Harvard Forest 2017-2019

This data set comprises various observations and measurements across the 2017 to 2019 growing season for seven red maple (Acer rubrum), eight red oak (Quercus rubra), and six white pine (Pinus strobus) in the Prospect Hill Tract of Harvard Forest. The observations include spring and fall leaf phenology and basic allometry, such as diameter at breast height and height. For the leaf phenology, we followed the protocol from John O’Keefe (HF003). Measurements include wood growth data from weekly microcores and a three time characterisation of growing season nonstructural carbon concentrations (soluble sugars and starch) for stems and leaves. Additionally, stem CO2 efflux was measured once a month for the 2018 growing season and weekly for the 2019 growing season.

openCC0Oct 2025View details →

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CSM02 Seasonal summary of numbers of small mammals on the four LTER gallery forest and limestone ledges traplines in wooded habitats at Konza Prairie

Data set contains seasonal summaries (spring, summer and autumn) of the number of individuals of each species of small mammal captured (relative abundance) on each woodland trapline. Each record contains year, season, trapline and number of individuals captured of each species. These live trap records are based on daily captures during a single 4-day trapping period in spring (early March to early April), summer (early July to late July) and autumn (mid-October to early December) for each of four permanent traplines established in two habitats (two traplines in gallery forest and two on limestone ledges). Bison did not graze any of the treatment units during the period of study.

openCC (other)Jan 2025View details →

Root Biomass, Fine Root Production, Soil Mass, and Soil pH in Limed and Control Plots at the Woods Lake Watershed, Adirondack Park, NY, USA, 2021-2022

In 1989, 6.89 Mg/ha of pelletized lime (CaCO3) was applied by helicopter to two subcatchments at the Woods Lake Watershed in Adirondack Park, New York, USA to ameliorate ecosystem acidification. Two unlimed (control) subcatchments were paired with limed subcatchments. In the same year, 99 permanent plots (20 m x 20 m) were established. Between 2008 and 2010, tree inventory and soil physicochemical measurements were made in five plots in each of the four subcatchments (20 plots total). This dataset contains soil physicochemical properties (dry mass, depth, and pH); root biomass (<1 mm, 1-2 mm, and >2 mm diameter); and annual fine root production (<1 mm and 1-2 mm) measurements made between 2021 and 2022 in 19 of these same plots (5 plots per control subcatchment and 4 or 5 plots per limed subcatchment). Data include measurements for all properties for Oe, Oa, and 0-10 cm mineral soil samples collected from 5 locations within each plot.

openCC (other)Aug 2025View details →

Deep-soil carbon changes at 62 European beech stands in the Vienna Woods, Austria, 1984-2022

This dataset comprises repeated soil, vegetation, and site measurements from long-term forest monitoring in the Vienna Woods (Wienerwald), Austria, part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Wienerwald” (48.1°–48.3° N, 15.8°–16.3° E). The study focuses on pure, naturally regenerated European beech (Fagus sylvatica) stands, initially sampled in 1984 and resampled in 2012 and 2022 . Elevations range from ~180 to 800 m a.s.l., with mean annual temperatures of 8–9 °C and precipitation of 600–900 mm. Soil samples were collected from three mineral soil depths (0–5 cm, 30–40 cm, and 80–90 cm) following consistent protocols across sampling years. Variables include total, organic, and inorganic carbon, total nitrogen and sulfur, exchangeable base cations (Ca, Mg, K), pH, total Fe and Mn, fine soil mass, bulk density, rock content, soil texture, and root biomass. Stocks were calculated. Leaf nutrient concentrations (C, N, S, P, Ca, Mg, K) were determined in all sampling years. Dendrochronological measurements were conducted to determine growth trends since stand establishment, and stand-level characteristics (tree density, DBH, aboveground biomass, crown vitality, slope, aspect) were recorded. Site-level climate data (mean annual temperature, annual precipitation) from 1961 to present and atmospheric deposition data for N and S (1990, 2012, 2022) were integrated from national and European gridded datasets. The dataset supports long-term assessments of soil carbon and nutrient dynamics, forest productivity, and environmental change impacts in old-growth beech forests. Data collection is complete for the 1984, 2012, and 2022 campaigns; no ongoing sampling is planned.

openCC (other)Dec 2025View details →

Microplastic Abundance, Shape, and Color in Passerines Captured at Rushton Woods Preserve Bird Banding Station in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA, April-September 2024

Fecal samples were collected from 5 species of passerine birds between April and September 2024 at the Rushton Woods Preserve Bird Banding Station. Samples were chemically digested and filtered for the purpose of extracting, quantifying, and describing microplastics.

openCC0Feb 2023View details →

RIV04 Moss cover in streams in wooded riparian areas and areas where canopy had been cut at Konza Prairie

Our project was designed to test if woody removal in a riparian zone allowed the system to rebound to a grassland stream state. We hypothesized that removal would increase light and decrease moss biomass.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2020View details →

Growth parameters and resistance to Sphaerulina musiva-induced canker are more important than wood density for increasing genetic gain from selection of Populus spp. hybrids for northern climates

The data was collected from a common garden genetics trial established in 2008 in northern Alberta, Canada. The trial represents 1978 (initial number) hybrid poplar clones from 63 families and includes interspecific crosses between Populus deltoides (D), Populus nigra (N), Populus balsamifera (B), P. maximowiczii (M), and P. × petrowskyana (P. laurifolia × P. nigra). Female clone 24 (‘Walker’ = (Populus deltoides × (P. laurifolia × P. nigra))) and male progeny clone 2403 (‘Okanese’ = (‘Walker’ × (P. laurifolia × P. nigra))) were used as reference clones. The study design was a randomized complete block design, with one ramet per clone in each of four blocks. Measurements were carried out after three, eight, and 10 growing seasons on the genetics trial. Results presented in ‘HybridPoplarsTrial.csv’ file, show is the raw data, while ‘Summary data.csv’ contains the mean values for clones obtained from the four blocks. Measured and calculated traits include: DBH (diameter at breast height; 1.3 m); H (height); canker (canker severity caused by Sphaerulina musiva (scale 0-3)); MAI (mean annual increment), V (volume). Description of headings: Trait [unit] - Description DBH_Age_3 [cm] - diameter at breast height at age 3 H_Age_3 [m] - height at age 3 DBH_Age_8 [cm] - diameter at breast height at age 8 H_Age_8 [m] - height at age 8 H_Age_10 [m] - height at age 10 DBH_Age_10 [cm] - diameter at breast height at age 10 Canker_Age_8 - canker severity caused by Sphaerulina musiva (scale 0-3) Canker_Age_10 - canker severity caused by Sphaerulina musiva (scale 0-3) V_Age_8 [m3 ha-1] - volume at age 8 MAI_Age_8 [m3 ha-1 yr-1] - mean annual increment at age 8 V_Age_10 [m3 ha-1] - volume at age 10 MAI_Age_10 [m3 ha-1 yr-1] - mean annual increment at age 10 WD_Age_10 [kg m-3] - wood density at age 10

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2020View details →

Emissions from Residential Wood Combustion in Norway _ 2016

Emissions at 250 m resolution from Residential Wood consumption (RWC) in Norway estimated by the MetVed model (Grythe et al., 2019). The MetVed model relies on several data-sets including dwelling number and type, available residential heating technology, location of RWC pipes/installations and wood consumption (for more detail see Grythe et al., 2019; Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10217–10237, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10217-2019).  <ul> <li>Emissions from Residential Wood Combustion in Norway _ 2016</li> <li>Format: shapefile</li> <li>Pollutants: PM10, PM2.5, PAH, CO, CH4, BC</li> <li>Emission (units): g</li> <li>WC_WE: Wood consumption (dry wood) at the grid (units): kg</li> <li>SSBID: Grid identification number, https://www.ssb.no/natur-og-miljo/geodata (In Norwegian)</li> <li>KOMMUNERNR: Municipality number</li> <li>FYLKE: County number</li> <li>Projection: UTM33</li> </ul>

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Wollestraat 29, Bruges (BE): high-resolution images of dry wood cores taken form a medieval floor joists, for tree-ring analysis

<ul><li>Dry-wood cores taken from historical timbers of a floor joists in the medieval building 'De Oude Steen', Wollestraat 29, Bruges (Belgium).</li><li><a href="https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/29956 ">https://id.erfgoed.net/erfgoedobjecten/29956 </a></li><li>The cores were sampled at 22/02/2023 with a dry-wood borer (internal diameter 12 mm, external diameter 19 mm).</li><li>The cores were surfaced with increasingly finer sanding papers, from P60 up to P4000.</li><li>The cores were photograpphed with a Sony alpha7R IV full frame camera and FE 90 mm F/2.8G macro lens.</li><li>The<a href="https://www.wsl.ch/en/services-produkte/skippy/"> Skippy</a> system served as the image capturing platform.</li><li>The individual digital macro-photos were stitched with PTGui into a mosaic image (.tiff).</li><li>The mosaic images have a resolution of ~4 µm.</li></ul>

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Application and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol) reinforced with cellulose nanofibrils as a coating for wood – Supplementary material

Supplementary material to the article "Application and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol) reinforced with cellulose nanofibrils as a coating for wood"

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2022View details →

Mechanical characterisation of the developing cell wall layers of tension wood fibres by Atomic Force Microscopy

This dataset corresponds to the Arnould et al. (2022) paper (available at https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.09.23.461481v1.full) on the mechanical characterization of developing cell wall layers of tension wood fibers by Atomic Force Microscopy. It contains all raw AFM files (Bruker format .spm, readable by the free software Gwyddion for example) corresponding to mechanical measurements of poplar reaction wood cells (clone 717-1B4) along 3 radial lines/rows, starting from the cambium. Each cell is identified by its "macroscopic" distance from the cambium (value in µm in the name of each file corresponding to the displacement of the sample in the AFM) which was corrected after using the AFM optical image captures. Some files, with a -z extension after the distance value, correspond to a zoom into the cell wall. The data also contain measurements made for mechanical calibration on epoxy embedded Kevlar fibers, controlled measurements in the embedding resin between each radial line and measurements in normal wood cells. Two csv files containing final data extracted from AFM measurements that give the value of the indentation modulus and the relative thickness to cell diameter ratio (by AFM and by phase contrast optical microscopy) in each cell wall layer as a function of cambium distance are also provided.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2022View details →

Near infrared imaging data from brown rot decayed wood

This dataset contains near infrared imaging data from the following publication: Belt, T.; Awais, M.; Mäkelä, M. (2022) Chemical characterization and visualization of progressive brown rot decay of wood by near infrared imaging and multivariate analysis. Frontiers in Plant Science 13:940745. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.940745. Details on the samples, the decay test, and the image collection parameters can be found in the publication. The “Sample IDs and mass losses.cvs” file contains the sample ID and mass loss due to decay of each sample in the dataset. The “C puteana.mat” and “R. placenta.mat” files contain the near infrared imaging data of samples exposed to the fungus Coniophora puteana and the fungus Rhodonia placenta, respectively, organised into cell arrays of sample IDs and corresponding image files. To generate the image files, a region of interest of 551 x 384 pixels was selected from the raw image files to produce an image that contains the sample surrounded by background. The spectral data were then converted to reflectance and corrected using the calibration reflectance target values.