Impact of non-growing season freeze-thaw conditions on nutrient cycling and Fall-applied fertilizers

Increased winter temperatures caused by climate warming may expose soils to colder temperatures and more freeze-thaw events. Freeze-thaw cycles influence chemical, biological, and physical soil properties that control carbon and nutrient cycling and microbial activity. Changes to these processes may impact nutrient export from affected soils, possibly altering soil health and nearby water quality. Determining these impacts to geochemical cycling and microbial activity will provide insight into the efficacy of pre-winter fertilizer applications and improve our conceptual and quantitative understanding of shallow subsurface biogeochemical processes. Thus, the overall aim of this research project is to assess the mechanisms of soil biogeochemical processes under variable freeze-thaw cycles and soil moisture content conditions, and determine the effects on carbon and nutrient cycling under variable snow cover and winter conditions.This data set is created to support the project titled 'Winter Soil Processes in Transition', which is Pillar 1-2 project under the Global Water Futures Program funded by Canada First Research Excellence Fund