Effects of drying temperature on potential carbon mineralization and water-extractable organic carbon in Iowa cropland and riparian buffer soils

Measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) produced after re-wetting a previously dried soil is an increasingly popular soil health assay, but there is disagreement on the optimal soil drying temperature. We tested whether soil drying temperature impacts water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC) and soil CO2 emissions (potential carbon mineralization) following rewetting of dried soil. Samples were collected at four sites in north-central Iowa, US, and each site had soils planted to corn/soybean or perennial vegetation. The dataset includes measurements of WEOC prior to the incubation experiment, and measurements of CO2 flux and its stable carbon isotope ratio over the course of a 28-day incubation. The manuscript describing these data is under review in Geoderma.