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Root biomass and traits across four lowland Panamanian forests from 0 - 1.2 m soil depths

Dataset ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.15485/2446720· OSTI ID:2446720
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [4];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [6];  [7];  [7]
  1. Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
  2. Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
  3. Haverford College, Department of Biology, Haverford, PA
  4. Baylor University, Department of Geosciences, Waco, TX, USA
  5. Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA.
  6. Geography Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
  7. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama

Fine roots are key to ecosystem-scale nutrient, carbon (C), and water cycling, yet our understanding of fine root traits variation within and among tropical forests, one of Earth’s most C-rich ecosystems, is limited. We characterized root biomass, morphology, nutrient content, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) colonization in 10 cm increments to 1.2 m depth across four distinct lowland Panamanian forests. The datasets provided include a .xlsx file for fine root characteristics across 10 cm increment depths to 1.2 m collected from late 2017 to 2018 across four different forests. Root characteristics include live fine root biomass, dead fine root biomass, coarse root biomass, specific root length, root diameter, root tissue density, specific root area, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization, root chemistry (e.g., organic chemistry), root %N, root %C, root C/N ratio, and root radiocarbon content. This .xlsx file contain four tabs with 1) Dataset; 2) Metadata with information about each column in the dataset; 3) The sampling methods summarized; 4) Sites information. We also provided csv files for each of these tabs. Additionally, a .kml file is provided with coordinates for all 32 plots included in the study across four forests (n = 8 plots per site/forest). This dataset serves as baseline data before a throughfall exclusion experiment, Panama Rainforest Changes with Experimental Drying (PARCHED), was implemented. No special software is needed to open these files.

Research Organization:
Environmental System Science Data Infrastructure for a Virtual Ecosystem; Consequences of Plant Nutrient Uptake for Soil Carbon Stabilization
Sponsoring Organization:
U.S. DOE > Office of Science > Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
DOE Contract Number:
SC0015898
OSTI ID:
2446720
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English