This README.txt file was generated on 2022-02-20 by Jessica L. Schedlbauer GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Title of Dataset: Soil carbon cycle data from Pennsylvania forest fragment edges 2. Author Information A. Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: Jessica L. Schedlbauer Institution: West Chester University of Pennsylvania Address: Department of Biology, 730 S. Church St., West Chester, PA 19383, USA Email: jschedlbauer@wcupa.edu 3. Date of data collection: 2018-05-21 through 2018-10-03 4. Geographic location of data collection: Three sites in Chester County, PA, USA (Miller Farm-1: 40°1’54.52” N, 75°43’50.16” W; Miller Farm-2: 40°2’18.73” N, 75°43’43.85” W; Warwick County Park: 40°10’15.44” N, 75°42’9.72” W) 5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: Pennsylvania Academy of Science, West Chester Univerisity's College of the Sciences and Mathematics SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION 1. Links to publications that cite or use the data: Schedlbauer, J.L. and J. Miller. In press. Edge effects increase soil respiration without altering soil carbon stocks in temperate broadleaf forests. Ecosphere (link will be added once article is available online) 2. Recommended citation for this dataset: Schedlbauer, J.L. 2022. Soil carbon cycle data from Pennsylvania forest fragement edges. Dryad Digital Repository. (link will be added when available) DATA & FILE OVERVIEW 1. File List: Monthly_respiration_soiltemp_soilmoisture.csv - file includes monthly measurements of soil respiration, soil temperature at 5 and 10 cm depth, and gravimetric soil water content Soil_carbon_nitrogen.csv - file includes all measurements of soil carbon and nitrogen storage at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth Litter_biomass.csv - file includes all measurements of litter (O horizon) biomass Decomposition.csv - file includes proportion of cellulose filter paper mass remaining at three measurement intervals 2. Relationship between files, if important: All measurements were taken at the same study sites and plots in 2018. 3. Date of file creation: 2022-02-20 METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: See Schedlbauer and Miller (In press) for detailed methodological information. In brief: Soil respiration, soil temperature (5 and 10 cm depth), and soil moisture data were collected monthly from May to October 2018 at three fragmented forest edges in southeastern Pennsylvania. Measurements were collected at three transects per site at distances of 5, 15, 30, 60, and 100 m from the edge. Decomposition of a common substrate (cellulose filter paper) was also measured over this time period. Additional samples were collected from each measurement location in June 2018 to determine soil carbon and nitrogen storage at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth (using elemental analysis of soil carbon and nitrogen together with soil bulk density), as well as litter layer (O horizon) biomass. 2. Methods for processing the data: Soil respiration rates are averages of three consecutive measurements made with the LI-6400 using the instrument's standard soil respiration measurement program. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Monthly_respiration_soiltemp_soilmoisture.csv 1. Number of variables: 8 2. Number of cases/rows: 264 3. Variable List: Month: Month of year in which data were collected, all measurements within a month were made within a 2-4 day timeframe Site: Study site codes where M1 = Miller Farm-1, M2 = Miller Farm-2, W = Warwick County Park Transect: Number of each transect, numbered from 1-3 at each site Distance (m): Distance of each measurement location from the forest edge; distances were 5, 15, 30, 60, and 100 m Soil respiration (µmol CO2 m-2 s-1): Rate of soil respiration, computed as the average of three measurements at each collar location Tsoil5 (degrees C): Soil temperature at 5 cm depth Tsoil10 (degrees C) Soil temperature at 10 cm depth GWC (g/g): Soil gravimetric water content, computed as g of water per g of gravel-free soil 4. Missing data codes: NAs present in this file are points removed from analyses as described in Schedlbauer and Miler (In press) DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Soil_carbon_nitrogen.csv 1. Number of variables: 6 2. Number of cases/rows: 85 3. Variable List: Site: Study site codes where M1 = Miller Farm-1, M2 = Miller Farm-2, W = Warwick County Park Transect: Number of each transect, numbered from 1-3 at each site Distance (m): Distance of each measurement location from the forest edge; distances were 5, 15, 30, 60, and 100 m Depth code: Soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-10 cm (depth code = 1) and 10-20 cm (depth code = 2) Mg C per ha (Mg C/ha): Soil carbon storage, computed from % C determination on three composited soil samples and measurement of bulk density at each plot location from samples collected in June 2018 Mg N per ha (Mg N/ha): Soil nitrogen storage, computed from % N determination on three composited soil samples and measurement of bulk density at each plot location from samples collected in June 2018 DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Litter_biomass.csv 1. Number of variables: 4 2. Number of cases/rows: 45 3. Variable List: Site: Study site codes where M1 = Miller Farm-1, M2 = Miller Farm-2, W = Warwick County Park Transect: Number of each transect, numbered from 1-3 at each site Distance (m): Distance of each measurement location from the forest edge; distances were 5, 15, 30, 60, and 100 m Litter kg/m2 (kg/m2): Litter (organic horizon) biomass (any wood >2.54 cm in diameter was excluded from this measurement) from samples collected in June 2018 DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Decomposition.csv 1. Number of variables: 5 2. Number of cases/rows: 135 3. Variable List: Site: Study site codes where M1 = Miller Farm-1, M2 = Miller Farm-2, W = Warwick County Park Transect: Number of each transect, numbered from 1-3 at each site Distance (m): Distance of each measurement location from the forest edge; distances were 5, 15, 30, 60, and 100 m Time (years): Time in years, where time < 1 year is expressed as a decimal Proportion mass remaining: Mass of cellulose filter paper remaining in a litter bag, expressed as a proportion of starting mass (7.0352 g)