Data for: Evidence for a high carbon uptake potential in degraded grasslands through restoration

Almost half of grasslands worldwide are degraded due to overgrazing or other forms of mismanagement, causing a severe decline in carbon uptake capacity. Therefore, through restoration, degraded grasslands are expected to have a high potential for carbon uptake. However, the strength of carbon uptake rate in degraded grasslands with effective restoration measures, such as nutrient amendment, is poorly evaluated. By combining a meta-analysis of nutrient effects on carbon fluxes in degraded vs. non-degraded grasslands in China with a nutrient amendment experiment in a degraded grassland, we evaluated the carbon uptake potential in degraded grasslands.