Root Traits of Carex subspathacea in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, 2022

In the Yukon-Kuskokwim (YK) Delta, geese create "grazing lawns" in otherwise ungrazed Carex subspathacea meadows. Geese annually maintain the grazing lawns, resulting in different aboveground morphological expressions for grazed Carex subspathacea compared to ungrazed Carex subspathacea. Grazed C. subspathacea tends to grow to an average of 1.5 centimeters (cm) in height and has a floret growth form, while ungrazed C. subspathacea reaches an average height of nearly 15.5 cm. Additionally, grazed C. subspathacea has lower Carbon : Nitrogen (C:N) content than ungrazed C. subspathacea. Furthermore, both the physical alterations to Carex subspathacea and the changes to the soil physiochemical environment caused by grazing suggest that aboveground herbivory may affect root trait expression of C. subspathacea, which in turn may influence biogeochemical processes such as soil respiration and decomposition rates. This data set contains information on Carex subspathacea root traits, including root morphology (total length, surface area, and volume), root exudates (dissolved organic carbon concentration), and root chemistry (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, lignin, cellulose, and acid fiber detergent) collected in Western Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim's delta. The samples were collected from two Carex subspathacea habitat types (grazed or ungrazed).