Soil properties and root characteristics across four lowland Panamanian forests from 0 - 1 m soil depths
- Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Haverford College, Department of Biology, Haverford, PA
- Baylor University, Department of Geosciences, Waco, TX, USA
- Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, USA.
- Geography Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
Objectives:Fine roots significantly influence ecosystem-scale cycling of nutrients, carbon (C), and water, yet there is limited understanding of how fine root traits vary across and within tropical forests, some of Earth's most C-rich ecosystems. The biomass of fine roots can impact soil carbon storage, as root mortality is a primary source of new carbon to soils. A positive relationship has been observed between fine root biomass and soil carbon stocks in Panama (Cusack et al 2018). Beyond biomass, root characteristics like specific root length (SRL) could also influence soil carbon, as roots with higher SRL are less dense and thinner, potentially decomposing more easily or promoting soil aggregation. Understanding the effects of root morphology and tissue quality on soil carbon storage and with soil properties in general can improve predictions of landscape-scale carbon patterns. We aggregated new data of root biomass, morphology and nutrient content at 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-50 cm and 50-100 cm depth increments across four distinct lowland Panamanian forests and paired with already published datasets (Cusack et al 2018; Cusack and Turner 2020) of soil chemistry from the same sites and soil depths to explore relationship between soil carbon stocks and root characteristics.Datasets included:The datasets provided include .csv and .xlsx files for fine root characteristics and soil chemistry from four different forests across 0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-50 cm, and 50-100 cm depth increments. 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, root %N, root %C, and root C/N ratio. Soil chemistry data includes total carbon (TC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), bulk density, total phosphorus (TP), available phosphorus (AEM Pi), and various Mehlich-extractable elements such as aluminum, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc. Nitrogen content measures include ammonium, nitrate, total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). The dataset also includes total exchangeable bases (TEB) and effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) in both centimoles of charge per kilogram and micromoles of charge per gram. The soil chemistry data was obtained from Cusack et al (2018) and Cusack and Turner (2020) and paired with root characteristics data for the same depth increments and sites. Additionally, a .kml file is provided with coordinates for all 32 plots included in the study across four forests (n = 8 plots per site). Root data was averaged across these 8 plots per site and soil data was collected in one pit in each site. 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:
- 2447894
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > CARBON
EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > ROOTS
EARTH SCIENCE > LAND SURFACE > SOILS
root %C
root %N
root C/N ratio
root biomass
root diameter
root tissue density
soil Mehlich-extractable elements (aluminum, calcium, iron, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc)
soil available phosphorus (AEM Pi)
soil bulk density
soil dissolved organic carbon (DOC)
soil effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC)
soil nitrogen content (ammonium
nitrate
total dissolved nitrogen
dissolved inorganic nitrogen
dissolved organic nitrogen)
soil total carbon (TC)
soil total exchangeable bases (TEB)
soil total phosphorus (TP)
specific root area
specific root length