Peltigera and decayed lodgepole pine diazotroph activity under varying biophysical and biogeochemical conditions, Wyoming, USA 2024

This data package contains acetylene reduction rate data from a full factorial experiment conducted in the field and in growth chambers. This data was collected to test the hypothesis that biophysical (moisture and temperature) factors exert dominant control over nitrogen fixation rates compared to biogeochemical (nitrogen and phosphorus) factors in lichens and decaying wood. Each data point represents individually measured rates of acetylene reduction (as a proxy of nitrogen fixation activity) from either Peltigera lichen or highly decayed lodgepole pine wood from lodgepole pine dominated forests in Wyoming, USA. Samples were collected in the field and measurements were made in the summer and fall of 2024 either in the field or under controlled temperature conditions in growth chambers. This package also contains a combined dataset of lichen and decayed wood acetylene reduction rates from both the full factorial experiments in 2024 and measurements from similar lodgepole pine forests and growth chamber experiments in 2022 that were taken under different temperature and moisture conditions. Altogether this dataset provides a robust set of data for nitrogenase activity in two critical ecological niches in response to varying moisture, temperature and nutrient conditions.