Dataset and Code for "Biodegradable Mulching Enhances Soil Respiration via Phase-Specific Pathways"

This dataset contains all data, analysis scripts, and figure outputs supporting the manuscript: Biodegradable film mulching increases soil respiration: a two-year field comparison with polyethylene film mulching in a semi-arid region of northern China[Xiaowei Liu , Dejun Wang, Mahepali Bazhabaike, Mingdon Zhou, and Tao Yin,* ][Journal / DOI – to be updated upon publication] The repository is organized into four independent modules, each with its own README, input data, analysis code, and results. Each module can be reproduced independently. Repository structure: 1_data_imputation – Missing data imputation for the variable RDR using linear interpolation in R (zoo::na.approx). Outputs the imputed dataset used in later analyses. Added code for missing diagnosis and sensitivity analysis. 2_origin_plots – OriginPro project files for generating violin plots and nonlinear fit plots. Includes processed input data and 12 high-resolution PDF figures. 3_mantel_analysis – R scripts and input data for Mantel test analysis of relationships between environmental factors and microbial/respiration variables. Outputs a multi-panel PDF plot (BM, PM, CT treatments). The final legend should be merged in Adobe Illustrator. 4_SEM_analysis – Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses using both piecewiseSEM (frequentist) and brms (Bayesian) frameworks. Includes path coefficients, effect decomposition, R² summaries, model fit statistics (LOOIC, WAIC), and the final grouped bar figure. Software requirements: R (≥ 4.0.0) with packages: zoo, lme4, piecewiseSEM, brms, bayestestR, vegan, linkET, tidyverse, ggplot2, patchwork, RColorBrewer, Cairo, loo OriginPro 2023 or later for .opju project files Reproducibility: Each module includes its own README with detailed instructions. To reproduce the full workflow: Run 1_data_imputation to generate data_imputation.csv. Use data_imputation.csv in 4_SEM_analysis for SEM and effect decomposition. Use 2_origin_plots and 3_mantel_analysis for figure generation. License:The license for data and code is described in the LICENSE files in the project root or Zenodo record.