DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6m905qgdm
title: Data from: Different effects of continuous-cover and rotation forest management on soil organic carbon stabilization in a boreal Norway spruce forest

description: Clear-cut-based rotation forest management (RFM) is the dominant
 silvicultural system in boreal forests. Continuous-cover forestry (CCF),
 an emerging alternative, operates without clear-cutting. How these
 silvicultural regimes affect long-term SOC storage and quality remains
 unclear. This dataset contains measurements from a field study that
 examined the effects of CCF and RFM on SOC quantity and stabilization in
 spruce-dominated forests in central Finland. We sampled (1) recently
 clear-cut plots, (2) even-aged mature plots (both representing RFM
 stages), (3) uneven-aged CCF plots, and (4) uncut controls. We analysed
 SOC stocks, root biomass, condensed tannins (root metabolites) and soil
 fungal necromass (indicated by glucosamine). SOC recalcitrance and
 accessibility for decomposition were assessed through chemical and
 physical fractionation and laboratory incubation. 13C and 15N abundances
 indicated the decomposition stage of soil organic matter (SOM) and the
 contribution of mycorrhizal residues. Uncut forests had marginally higher
 root biomass than clear-cut and even-aged forests, while uneven-aged
 forests fell in between. Tannin concentrations were decreased in clear-cut
 plots. Fungal necromass correlated strongly with SOC but was unaffected by
 forest management. Contrastingly, greater 15N enrichment in CCF plots
 suggested higher impact of mycorrhizae in SOM formation. Although soil
 respiration rate in uncut plots was higher than in managed plots, chemical
 and physical fractionation analyses showed no treatment effects. While we
 did not find differences in total SOC stocks between treatments, our
 results revealed long-term management impacts on SOC quality and
 stabilization processes, as mycorrhizal fungi appeared to be more involved
 in SOM formation in uneven-aged plots. This may indicate a greater
 potential for long-term accumulation of stable SOM.
description: More clarification of terms and units can be found in the sheets
 named "metadata" in the data file. More
 detailed method descriptions can be found in the publication linked to
 this dataset. <em><strong>Soil
 characteristics</strong></em> All soil
 attributes have been assessed separately for the organic topsoil layer
 (O-layer) and mineral soil (min), if not specified otherwise.
 <strong>SOC stocks</strong>: calculated based on C
 content (of fine earth fraction), bulk density, and volume of soil
 layer <strong>Root biomass</strong>:
 hand-picked, oven-dried (65 degrees C), sorted into tree fine roots
 (&lt;2 mm), tree coarse roots (&gt; 2 mm), dead roots, and
 understorey roots. <strong>Condensed
 tannins</strong>: concentration of condensed tannins in the soil was
 analyzed with an acid-butanol assay.
 <strong>Cumulative soil respiration</strong> under
 standardized conditions was measured during a 28 days laboratory
 incubation. <strong>Soil fungal
 necromass</strong>: the amino sugar glucosamine was used as an
 indicator for fungal necromass. <strong>Chemical
 fractionation</strong>: Conducted from organic layer samples, first
 nonpolar extractives with dichloromethane, followed by a hot water
 extraction to dissolve polar extractives and followed by acid hydrolysis
 with sulphuric acid. Chemical fractionation was conducted for O-layer
 samples and for the light particulate organic carbon (POM) fraction in the
 mineral soi. <strong>Physical
 fractionation</strong>: Conducted for organic matter in mineral
 soil. We first separated based on size: particulate organic matter (POM)
 &gt; 0.63 μm was separated from mineral associated organic matter
 (MAOM) &lt; 0.63 μm by wet-sieving. Then we separated based on density
 with a Sodiumpolytungstate solution with a density of 1.85 g cm
 <sup>-3</sup>. Heavy POM sunk to the bottom, whereas light POM
 floated on top. <strong>13C and 15N
 abundance</strong>: isotope concentrations were assessed for O-layer
 samples, POM and MAOM. <strong>Soil temperature,
 surface temperature and soil moisture</strong> were assessed every
 15 minutes throughout one year (Oct 2020-Sep 2021)
 <em><strong>Forest stand
 characteristics</strong></em>
 <strong>Mean diameter at breast height, basal area and
 dominant tree height</strong> of the tree stand were assessed in
 each plot. <strong>Ground vegetation
 coverage</strong> was visually assessed for dwarf shrubs, herbs,
 grasses, mosses and lichen.
description: # Data from: Different effects of continuous-cover and rotation forest
 management on soil organic carbon stabilization in a boreal Norway spruce
 forest Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.6m905qgdm](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6m905qgdm) ##
 Description of the data and file structure The dataset is connected to the
 manuscript of the same name by Eva-Maria Roth, Outi-Maaria Sietiö, Bartosz
 Adamczyk, Pingping Xu, Sauli Valkonen, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Heljä-Sisko
 Helmisaari, and Kristiina Karhu, published in Forest Ecology and
 Management. Corresponding author: Eva-Maria Roth
 ([eva-maria.roth@helsinki.fi](mailto:eva-maria.roth@helsinki.fi)) Methods
 and research design are detailed in the article and the supplementary
 material. The data is provided in one Excel table. It contains a sheet
 called "all_data", including all the analyses made from the
 pooled soil samples and measured on site as described in the article,
 given as one mean value per plot. The variables in this sheet are
 explained in the sheet "Metadata_all".  The sheet
 "microclimate" shows microclimate data (soil temperature, soil
 moisture, surface temperature and air temperature) recorded every 15
 minutes throughout one year on each plot. Variables are explained in the
 sheet "metadata_microclimate". The sheet
 "ground_vegetation_cover" shows the recorded ground vegetation
 cover (4 recordings per plot) for shrubs, herbs, grasses, mosses and
 lichen. The variables are explained in the sheet
 "metadata_ground_vegetationcover".  The sheet
 "root_biomass" shows the measured root biomass in samples per
 plot separated for coarse roots, fine roots, understorey roots and dead
 roots. The variables are explained in the sheet
 "metadata_root_biomass". ### Files and variables #### File:
 Vessari_data_final.xlsx **Description:** excel file ##### Variables *
 variables are explained in the metadata sheets in the excel table *
 missing values are indicated with blank cells