Caetano et al., 2026_TerracedCoffee_PerennialCoverCrops

This dataset contains raw soil data from a three-year field experiment evaluating the effects of perennial cover crops on soil organic carbon stocks, carbon fractions, nitrogen pools, and microbial activity indicators in a recently bench-terraced hillside coffee system established on a Rhodic Ferralsol under a tropical altitude climate in southeastern Brazil. Three treatments were compared in a randomized complete block design (three replications): ruzigrass (Urochloa ruziziensis, PGRA), forage peanut (Arachis pintoi, PLEG), and spontaneous vegetation (SPON). Soil samples were collected at depths of 0–5, 5–10, 10–20, and 20–40 cm.