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Data Archive for the NSF project: Microbial Control of Litter Decay
The goals of the empirical work on this project were to simultaneously
track changes in litter mass loss and chemistry; and microbial
community composition, respiration, and enzyme activity during
decomposition. This project also examined how the relationships among
these variables are affected by elevated N availability.
Additionally, the outreach activities from this project included
developing the online Interactive Model Of Leaf Decomposition (IMOLD; http://imold.utoledo.edu).
Targeting grades 9-12, IMOLD starts with professionally animated
lessons on the C cycle, litter decomposition, and microbes. Users are
then directed to an interactive decomposition model allowing them to
decompose different litters in the same environment, or the same litter
in different environments. Lastly, IMOLD includes lab and classroom
lesson plans developed by teachers. This educational resource is
already being used in high school classrooms throughout the US.
The following experiments provide data on soil and leaf litter enzyme
activities, extractable nitrogen and phosphate, microbial biomass, soil
respiration, microbial community composition, soil carbon to nitrogen
ratios, relative assimilation of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous,
leaf litter mass loss, litter phenolic chemistry, and model diagrams
and code.
Experiment
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Data Set Overview
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Files
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Data from: Microbial substrate preference and community dynamics during the decomposition of Acer saccharum
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This data set
contributes information on soil enzyme activities; extractable nitrogen
and phosphate; microbial biomass; soil respiration; and microbial
community composition through phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFA).
Data were collected from a 500 day incubation experiment including two
treatments: litter addition and no-litter. Six replicates of twenty
litter addition groups and six no-litter groups were incubated and
harvested at different times during the course of the experiment.
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Dataset
README
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Data from: Interactions between leaf litter quality, particle size, and microbial community during the earliest stage of decay
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This data set
contributes information on soil enzyme activities; extractable nitrogen
and phosphate; microbial biomass; soil carbon to nitrogen ratios; soil
respiration; and relative assimilation of carbon, nitrogen, and
phosphorous. Data was collected from a 2-week incubation experiment
that included two leaf litter types: sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and
white oak (Quercus alba) and two soils: 0.4% C sandy soil and 4.1% C
loam soil. Litter was cut into the following sizes: (1) Ground litter
(20 mesh), (2) Litter cut into 0.25 cm2 pieces, and (3) Litter cut into
1 cm2. Four replicates of twelve litter treatment groups (2 litter
types × 3 litter particle sizes × 2 soil types) and two soil-only
control groups were harvested for analysis at the end of the 2-week
incubation.
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Dataset
README
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Data from: Field and lab conditions alter microbial enzyme and biomass dynamics driving decomposition of the same leaf litter
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This dataset
includes information on leaf litter enzyme activities; extractable
nitrogen and phosphate; microbial biomass; respiration; leaf litter
mass loss; and field temperature and moisture conditions. Measurements
are from parallel field and laboratory incubations. Both studies were
conducted using four leaf litter types: flowering dogwood (Cornus
florida), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), white oak (Quercus alba), and a
50/50 combination of sugar maple and white oak litter (i.e., mixed
litter). Leaf litter was placed in 1 mm˛ mesh-size litterbags - either
15 cm x 15 cm for the field study or 6 cm x 6 cm for the lab study. The
field study litterbags were replicated eight times for sugar maple,
white oak, and mixed litter and six times for dogwood litter in each of
eight plots. The lab study litterbags were placed in microcosms with
soil and replicated four times for each litter type; each set of 4 was
then replicated eight times. Sugar maple, white oak, and mixed
litterbags were harvested eight times during the field and the lab
study. Dogwood litterbags were harvested six times during the field
study and eight times during the lab study.
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Field Dataset
Lab Dataset
README
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BrdU Incorporation Study
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This data set
contributes information on soil enzyme activities; extractable nitrogen
and phosphate; and microbial biomass. Data were collected from a 416
day incubation experiment including two treatments (sugar maple + sandy
soil and white oak + sandy soil) and a no-litter control. These data
are part of a BrdU incorporation study aimed at characterizing the
active decomposer community at different stages of decay. Nucleotide
analog labeling, such as BrdU incorporation, allows DNA to be isolated
from active members of a microbial community through incorporation of a
thymidine analog into newly synthesized DNA.
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Dataset
README
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Maize Internode N addition study - in collaboration w/ INRA
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This data set
contributes information on litter enzyme activities; extractable
nitrogen and phosphate; microbial biomass; soil respiration; and litter
phenolic chemistry. Data was collected from a 478-day incubation
experiment that included three maize genotypes, two different pH soils:
4.9 and 6.7, and two nitrogen addition levels (addition or
no-addition). Four replicates of one hundred-twenty litter and soil
treatment groups (3 litter types x 2 soils x 2 nitrogen addition levels
x 10 harvests) and forty soil-only control groups (2 soils x 2 nitrogen
additions x 10 harvests) were harvested for analysis 0, 27, 58, 84,
120, 172, 238, 316, 390, 478 days after incubation start.
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Dataset
README
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Data from: Optimization of hydrolytic and oxidative enzyme methods for ecosystem studies
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This data set
contributes information on soil enzyme activities measured under a
variety of conditions (i.e. pH changes, different buffers, NaOH
addition, etc.)
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Dataset
README |
Calculating co-metabolic costs of lignin decay and their impacts on carbon use efficiency
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Model diagrams and code for calculating co-metabolic costs of lignin decay and their impacts on carbon use efficiency.
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README
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A theoretical model of C- and N-acquiring exoenzyme activities, which balances microbial demands during decomposition
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Model diagrams and code for a theoretical model of carbon and nitrogen acquiring exoenzyme activities.
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README
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