DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h4mr
title: Data from: Disentangling the impact of forest management intensity components on soil biological processes

description: Temperate forests cover 25 % of the world's forest area and most of
 them are managed for timber production. To increase yields native
 deciduous trees have been commonly replaced by fast-growing conifers,
 especially in Western and Central Europe. Despite the importance of forest
 soils for a variety of ecosystem functions, the effects of forest
 management intensity on soil biological processes have not yet been
 sufficiently understood. Using a standardized sampling protocol that is
 covering 200 plots across 4 regions with different abiotic site
 conditions, our study aims at disentangling the effects of individual
 components of forest management intensity such as i) share of native
 deciduous trees ii) timber harvesting volume and iii) natural deadwood
 volume on soil biological processes. Our findings indicate that the
 effects of management practices on soil biological processes are as
 important as abiotic factors, such as subsoil pH value and soil texture.
 Piecewise structural equation modelling revealed that forest management
 has both direct and indirect effects on soil biological processes via
 humus form and topsoil pH. Generally, the ratio of deciduous and
 coniferous trees had the most significant effect on nutrient cycling and
 soil properties, followed by nutrient extraction through timber harvesting
 and natural deadwood volume. The strength of the observed effects was
 modified by regional variation in climate, topography and bedrock. Our
 findings underline the high diagnostic value of humus form as an indicator
 of biological processes in mineral topsoil (particularly pH, C/N and
 microbial characteristics can be predicted) that can guide forest managers
 in evaluating soil quality and identifying management impacts.
description: The data was collected as part of the
 BiCO<sub>2</sub> project, a large-scale study of biodiversity
 and carbon storage along a forestry intensity gradient at four different
 forest sites in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This partial dataset was
 used to investigate the effects of forest management components on
 nutrient cycling and soil biological properties for the manuscript
 ‘Disentangling the impact of forest management intensity components on
 soil biological processes’ by Klein-Raufhake et al 2024.
description: # Data from: Disentangling the impact of forest management intensity
 components on soil biological processes
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h4mr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h4mr) ## Description of the data and file structure We analyzed the effects of forest management components on nutrient cycling and soil biological processes in temperate forests. To this end, we have examined the topsoil of 200 plots across four regions with different abiotic site conditions. ### Files and variables The dataset consists of the metadata of the 200 plots and the soil properties of the soil samples from 0-5 cm mineral soil depth measured in the laboratory. All variables occurring in the data set 'mastertab_soil_formi.xlsx' are explained in the table ‘mastertab_soil_formi_metadata.xlsx’ and listed with units and scale. The 'mastertab_ph_gradient.xlsx' dataset contains the pH values of all sampled soil horizons for all 200 plots. All variables occurring in this dataset are explained in the table 'mastertab_ph_gradient_metadata.xlsx' and also listed with units and scale. The 'mastertab_Inonat_calculation.xlsx' contains the species identity and information whether they are native or non-native species for each tree in each plot. All variables occurring in this dataset are explained in the table 'mastertab_Inonat_metadata.xlsx'.