SPRUCE Deep Peat Heating (DPH) Environmental Data, February 2014 through July 2015

This data set provides a record of the half-hourly automated environmental data collected for 14 SPRUCE plots (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, and 21) during the Deep Peat Heating (DPH) study. In June 2014, deep soil heating was initiated at 5 warming levels (+0, +2.25, +4.5, +6.75 and +9 °C) with 2 replicate plots per level. Measurements were underway before the initiation of heating treatments and continued through July 27 of 2015 at the transition to whole-ecosystem warming manipulations. The DPH study was undertaken to evaluate possible rapid responses of deep peat carbon (C) stocks, microbial communities, and biogeochemical cycling processes to unprecedented temperatures. Warming levels at depth were achieved over a 25 (+ 2.25 °C) to 60-day (+9 °C) period depending on the target treatment temperatures.