Soil dehydrogenase activity under long-term HDPE mulch application in a Vaccinium virgatum plantation

Measurements of soil dehydrogenase activity from a long-term field experiment conducted in southern Portugal. Blueberry plants (Vaccinium virgatum cv. ‘Centra Blue’) were cultivated for 10 years under green high-density polyethylene (HDPE) mulch in sandy loam soil. Soil samples were collected at 0-20 cm depth and analyzed for dehydrogenase activity using the triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) reduction method. The dataset includes three biological replicates per treatment (mulched vs. bare soil control), providing insight into the long-term effects of plastic mulch on soil microbial activity