Multiple Element Limitation in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE): Net N mineralization at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Bartlett Experimental Forest and Jeffers Brook, central NH USA, 2009 - 2017

The Multiple Element Limitation in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE) project studies N and P acquisition and limitation through a series of nutrient manipulations in northern hardwood forests. This data set includes net N mineralization measured in Oe, Oa, and mineral soil horizons in all 13 of the MELNHE study sites. Samples are collected every several years, beginning with pretreatment (2008 and 2009) through 2017, representing 3 years of N and P fertilization. Additional detail on the MELNHE project, including a datatable of site descriptions and a pdf file with the project description and diagram of plot configuration can be found in this data package: https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?scope=knb-lter-hbr&identifier=344 These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station. The following papers describe and make use of these data: Kang H, Fahey TJ, Bae K, Fisk MC, Sherman RE, Yanai RD, See C. 2016. Response of forest soil respiration to nutrient addition depends on site fertility. Biogeochemistry 127:113-124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0172-6. Ratliff TJ, Fisk MC. 2016. Phosphatase activity is related to N availability but not P availability across hardwood forests in the northeastern United States. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 94:61-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.11.009. Bae B, Fahey TJ, Yanai RD, Fisk MC. 2015. Soil nitrogen availability affects belowground carbon allocation and soil respiration in northern hardwood forests of New Hampshire. Ecosystems 18:1179-1191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-015-9892-7. Fisk MC, Ratliff TJ, Goswami S, Yanai RD. 2014. Synergistic soil response to nitrogen plus phosphorus fertilization in hardwood forests. Biogeochemistry 118:195-204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-013-9918-1.