Divergent controls and threshold responses of mineral-associated versus particulate organic carbon in alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

We compiled a dataset from published literature, which included 376 measurements of MAOC and POC. Sampling sites comprised alpine steppe (48 sites), alpine meadow (298 sites), and wetland (30 sites). To examine the influence of environmental factors on MAOC and POC patterns, data from the 0-30 cm soil layer (encompassing the humus layer and transitional horizon) were selected for analysis. The extracted environmental variables included geographic location (longitude, latitude, elevation), climate variables (mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, aridity index), soil properties (pH, total nitrogen, soil moisture, clay‑silt content), net primary productivity, and microbial biomass carbon