Characteristics of 32-year-old Pinus ponderosa root systems in northern Idaho, USA

This data publication includes tree data acquired 32-years after an experiment was initiated (1986) on the University of Idaho Experimental Forest in northern Idaho, USA, to determine the outplanting effects of copper root pruning during container nursery production. We measured aboveground tree attributes (i.e., height, diameter breast height, canopy projection, and basal area of nearest neighbors) and excavated trees to measure root traits for the entire root system and the root cage, including number and volume and length by depth, quadrant, order, and type. We also investigated attributes of the root cage, including taproot taper, root diameter, patterns of growth ring eccentricity, and cross-sectional area.
The primary objective was to determine if copper root pruning during nursery production had an effect of root system architecture three decades hence, but this work also provided insights in root system architecture development in general.
These data were published on 09/27/2021. Minor metadata updates were made on 05/18/2023, 01/17/2024, and 07/15/2024. On 12/09/2025 a minor correction was made to the description of the variable "order".