Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative

Long-term Managed Forest Soil Monitoring for Carbon and Nutrients: Soil aggregate data by plot

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Metadata Provider

  • Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Cooperative

    • Address:
      705 Spear Street
      South Burlington, Vermont 05403
      United States of America

      Phone: (802) 391-4135
      Email: femc@uvm.edu
      Website: www.uvm.edu/femc

Abstract

    Ongoing forest soil monitoring is essential for understanding the impact of human activities. With funding from the Northern States Research Cooperative, we established 18 plots in Vermont's managed forests. Most are located in federal, state and town forests, parks and management areas. The initial primary focus was on soil carbon, which serves as a major reservoir for carbon storage in forests. Initial soil sampling was done in 2008/2009, along with measurement of aboveground biomass. In 2012/2013 we resampled to determine earthworm numbers and species, and also performed a detailed land-use history of each site. In addition, four sites were resampled to assess the impact of partial harvesting on carbon in the forest floor. We hope that these plots will continue to provide a good baseline for future work.

People

  • Juliette Juillerat: Content Provider

  • Sandra Wilmot: Principal Investigator

  • Nancy Burt: Content Provider

  • Charlie Cogbill: Content Provider

  • Thomas Villars: Content Provider

  • Donald Ross: Principal Investigator

  • David Brynn: Content Provider

  • Caroline Alves: Content Provider

  • Meghan Knowles: Content Provider

  • Jeff Briggs: Content Provider

  • Lisa Thorton: Content Provider

  • Josef Görres: Content Provider

Organizations

  • Northeastern States Research Cooperative : funder
  • University of Vermont Plant and Soil Science: lead

Geographic Coverage

  • Coordinates

    Data Table

    • Title: Soil aggregate data by plot
    • Start Date: 2012-04-29
    • End Date: 2024-01-30
    • Description: Data from 14 of the 18 sites on the fractionation of soil into three aggregate categories and the amount of protected carbon within each category. Also included are earthworm numbers, both total and by ecotype. A separate dataset will have earthworm counts by species. Each site had six subplots that were sampled in three increments: the Oi and Oe horizons, 0-10 cm below the Oe, and 10-20 cm below the Oe. Soil aggregate analysis was done on the mineral soil below the Oe, i.e. the Oa was not included.

    • Purpose: Data available to the public for download

    • Condensed Title: 20240130112037_Soil_aggregate_data.xlsx

    • Object Name: VMC.1158.3932

    • Data Type: mySQL
    • Citation: Knowles, M.E. and D.S. Ross, (2024) Soil aggregate data by plot. FEMC. Available online at: https://www.uvm.edu/femc/data/archive/project/Soil_Carbon_Monitoring/dataset/soil-aggregate-data-by-plot

    • Online Distribution: https://vmc.w3.uvm.edu/vmcdevel/data/archive/project/Soil_Carbon_Monitoring/dataset/soil-aggregate-data-by-plot

    Attribute List

      Attribute Name: Site
      • Label: Abbreviation for site
      • Description: Three letter abbreviation used for each site
      • Storage Type: text
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Plot_location_(degrees)
      • Label: Plot location (degrees)
      • Description: Location of the subplot from the plot center in degrees magnetic north
      • Storage Type: text
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Depth_(cm)
      • Label: Soil sampling depth (cm)
      • Description: Depth below the Oe horizon for soil sample taken. Subplot dimensions were 50 x 50 cm
      • Storage Type: text
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Worms_per_m2
      • Label: Number of earthworms per square meter
      • Description: Count of individual earthworms in the subplot layer expressed on a per square meter basis
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: endogeic/m2
      • Label: Number of endogeic earthworms per square meter
      • Description: Count of individual endogeic earthworms in the subplot layer expressed on a per square meter basis
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: epigeic/m2
      • Label: Number of epigeic earthworms per square meter
      • Description: Count of individual epigeic earthworms in the subplot layer expressed on a per square meter basis
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: epi-endo_anecic/m2
      • Label: Number of epi-endogeic and anecic earthworms per square meter
      • Description: Count of individual epi-endogeic and anecic earthworms in the subplot layer expressed on a per square meter basis
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Number_of_species
      • Label: Number of unique earthworm species
      • Description: Number of unique earthworm species in the subplot layer
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: bulk_soil_N_(g/kg)
      • Label: Total soil nitrogen (g/kg)
      • Description: Total nitrogen in the soil layer by elemental analyzer
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: bulk_soil_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Total soil organic carbon (g/kg)
      • Description: Total organic carbon in the soil layer by elemental analyzer
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: bulk_soil_C/N_ratio
      • Label: Bulk soil carbon to nitrogen ratio
      • Description: Ratio of total organic carbon to total nitrogen in the soil layer, by elemental analyzer
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: ordinal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit:
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: fmA_total_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Free microaggregate and free light fraction carbon
      • Description: Carbon in the 'free' (not within macroaggegates) microaggregates (53-250 micron diameter) and the associated light fraction (before separation)
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: fmA_LF_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Carbon in the light fraction separated with the free microaggregates
      • Description: Carbon in the light fraction of organic matter associated with, but not entrained in, the 'free' (not within macroaggegates) microaggregates (53-250 micron diameter)
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: fmA_prot(g/kg)
      • Label: Carbon protected within the free microaggregates
      • Description: Carbon entrained in the 'free' (not within macroaggegates) microaggregates (53-250 micron diameter), calculated by subtraction of the light fraction carbon from the fmA_total carbon
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: mAlg_total_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Large macroaggregate (>2 mm) total carbon
      • Description: Carbon in the large macroaggregate (>2 mm) fraction, including carbon within entrained microaggregates and the light fraction of organic matter
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: mAlg_LF_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Large macroaggregate (>2 mm) light fraction carbon
      • Description: Carbon in the large macroaggregates (>2 mm) from the inter-microaggregate light fraction of organic matter
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: mAlg_prot_(g/kg)
      • Label: Large macroaggregate (>2 mm) protected carbon
      • Description: Protected carbon in the large macroaggregates (>2 mm), i.e. that contained within the entrained microaggregates. Calculated by subtracting the large macroaggregate light fraction carbon from the large macroaggregate'total' carbon
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: mAsm_total_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Small macroaggregate (0.25-2.0 mm) total carbon
      • Description: Carbon in the small macroaggregate (0.25-2.0 mm) fraction, including carbon within entrained microaggregates and the light fraction of organic matter
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: mAsm_LF_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Small macroaggregate (0.25-2.0 mm) light fraction carbon
      • Description: Carbon in the small macroaggregates (0.25-2.0 mm) from the inter-microaggregate light fraction of organic matter
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: mAsm_prot_(g/kg)
      • Label: Small macroaggregate (0.25-2.0 mm) protected carbon
      • Description: Protected carbon in the small macroaggregates (0.25-2.0 mm), i.e. that contained within the entrained microaggregates. Calculated by subtracting the large macroaggregate light fraction carbon from the large macroaggregate'total' carbon
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: g/kg
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Sum_of_protected_C_(g/kg)
      • Label: Sum of protected carbon contained in all microaggregates
      • Description: Sum of free microaggregate protected carbon and microaggregate protected carbon entrained in both small and large macroaggregates
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • Unit: g/kg
      Attribute Name: Fraction_protected
      • Label: The fraction of total carbon that is protected
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the sum of protected carbon by the bulk soil carbon
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_soil_lgMA
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of large macroaggregates (>2 mm)
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the dry weight of the separated large macroaggregates (>2 mm) by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • Unit: unitless
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_soil_mAlg
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of microaggregates within large macroaggregates
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the dry weight of the microaggregates separated from the large macroaggregates (>2 mm) by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_soil_smMA
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of small macroaggregates (0.25-2.0 mm)
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the dry weight of small macroaggregates (0.25-2.0 mm) by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_soil_mAsm
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of microaggregates within small macroaggregates
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the dry weight of microaggregates separated from the small macroaggregates (0.25-2.0 mm) by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_soil_fmA
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of free microaggregates
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the dry weight of free microaggregates (0.053-0.25 mm) by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_all_mA
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of all microaggregates
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the sum of the dry weight of all microaggregates (free and entrained in macroaggregates) by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1
      Attribute Name: Fraction_of_all_MA
      • Label: The fraction of total soil weight that is comprised of all macroaggregates
      • Description: Calculated by dividing the sum of the dry weight of small and large macroaggregates by the dry weight of the soil sample analyzed. These data are not shown.
      • Storage Type: decimal
      • Measurment Type: nominal
      • String Format: D-M-YY
      • Unit: unitless
      • Number Type: -1

    Methods

    • No methods recorded for this dataset

    Sampling Equipment

    • No sampling equipment recorded for this dataset

    Site Characteristics

    • No site characteristics recorded for this dataset