Impact of farmland-to-forest conversion on soil organic carbon depends on the initial soil organic carbon content

This dataset includes plant and soil data from topsoil (0-20 cm) and subsoil (60-80 cm) in farmland, coniferous forests, and broadleaved forests from Yulin, BayanNur, Wuwei, Lanzhou, Zhongwei, Wuhan, Luoyang, and Nanyang. The plant and soil data are stored in files named “data-plant” and “data-soil”, respectively. These data were collected through field sampling and laboratory analyses. They are used to study the effects and mechanisms of converting farmland to forest on soil organic carbon, particulate organic carbon, and mineral organic carbon across various climatic zones. Note: Due to human disturbances at the Zhongwei coniferous forest sample sites, the data significantly deviates from other sites. Thus, it is considered unrepresentative and is not recommended for use.