DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zpc866th1
title: Data from: Natural tree colonisation of organo-mineral soils does not provide a net carbon capture benefit at decadal timescales

description: Tree cover is often increased with the aim of increasing ecosystem carbon
 sequestration and mitigating climate change. However, when planting trees
 in ecosystems with carbon-rich soils, soil disturbance during ground
 preparation can cause soil carbon losses not counteracted by tree carbon
 gains at the decadal timescales relevant to climate change mitigation.
 Tree establishment via natural colonisation, which does not involve soil
 disturbance, might prevent these soil carbon losses, but this is
 unknown. We measured soil, ground vegetation, and tree carbon
 stocks and tree inputs along an 8 metre transect from single, native,
 25-year-old naturally colonised trees (Pinus sylvestris or Betula spp.)
 onto Calluna vulgaris-dominated moorland, at sites with carbon-rich
 organo-mineral soils in the Cairngorms, UK.  Along the transect
 away from the tree, organic soil carbon stocks increased from 4.0 kg C m-2
 at 0.5 metres, to 6.0 kg C m-2 at 8 metres. Meanwhile, carbon stocks in
 the top 10 cm of the mineral soil horizon, 3.6 kg C m-2, did not vary.
 Ground vegetation carbon stocks increased only slightly, from 1.0 kg C m-2
 at 0.5 metres, to 1.3 kg C m-2 at 8 metres. Mean carbon stock per tree was
 32.4 kg, so overall, sparse natural colonisation resulted in no net
 ecosystem carbon gain. Policy implications: Sparse natural colonisation of
 carbon-rich soils by low biomass trees might not result in net ecosystem
 carbon gains at decadal timescales, and instead lead to unforeseen soil
 carbon losses. Soil carbon changes should be taken into account when
 quantifying the climate change mitigation potential of natural
 colonisation.
description: # Natural tree colonisation of organo-mineral soils does not provide a net
 carbon capture benefit at decadal timescales
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zpc866th1](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zpc866th1) ### Authors Naomi C Housego (1,2,*), Thomas C Parker (1), Lorna E Street (2), Elena I Vanguelova (3), Ruth J Mitchell (1) 1: The James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, UK 2: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK 3: Forest Research, Alice Holt, Farnham, UK \* Correspondence author: [naomi.housego@hutton.ac.uk](mailto:naomi.housego@hutton.ac.uk) ### Funding Information The collection of the data in this dataset and its analysis was funded by by Macaulay Development Trust grant E002717-00 and Natural Environment Research Council grant NE/N015460/1. ### Description The dataset and R script to support the findings, figures, and supporting information in: Housego, N. C., Parker, T. C., Street, L. E., Vanguelova, E. I., and Mitchell, R. J. (2025) *Natural tree colonisation of organo-mineral soils does not provide a net carbon capture benefit at decadal timescales.* Journal of Applied Ecology. ## Files and variables #### File: Housego\_et\_al\_2024.xlsx **Description:** A .xlsx file containing all data supporting: Housego, N. C., Parker, T. C., Street, L. E., Vanguelova, E. I., and Mitchell, R. J. (2025) *Natural tree colonisation of organo-mineral soils does not provide a net carbon capture benefit at decadal timescales.* Journal of Applied Ecology. ##### Variables * Variables defined on first sheet of file * Missing values indicated by: NS (not sampled); RI (recorded incorrectly); TF (trap failed); NR (not retrieved); NI (not installed); IM (insufficient mass) ## Code/software Software: R Version: 4.3.1 Packages: readxl; tidyverse; ggplot2; ggmagnify; ggpubr; nlme; lme4; lmerTest