Soil microbial and physicochemical data from watersheds impacted by different management practices or wildfire in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, 2023

Four forested watersheds in Western North Carolina with different management practices or disturbance were sampled in the summer of 2023 to compare soil physicochemical, microbial, and functional differences. These data include mineral soil physicochemical properties (location, elevation, aspect, gravimetric moisture content, pH, total carbon and nitrogen, total organic carbon, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, total dissolved nitrogen, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (NO3 and NH4), and microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen), soil microbial properties (16S ASV community sequences, ITS ASV community sequences, extracellular enzyme activity, carbon mineralization rates, and ammonium mineralization rates), and organic soil properties (total organic carbon, total carbon and nitrogen, 16S ASV sequences, pH, and moisture). Together, this dataset provides context to understanding the impacts of different management practices and relevant disturbances, such as severe wildfire, on soil in the Southern Appalachian region.