Local controls modify the effects of timber harvesting on surface soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics

Managing for structural complexity to enhance forest ecosystem health and resiliency is increasingly incorporated in silvicultural treatments. High spatial variability in stands managed for structural complexity could obscure the effects of forest management on surface soils. Yet few studies have assessed how within-stand variation in forest structure and other local controls influence surface soil organic matter dynamics over time following timber harvests. We used a stratified random sampling design to capture variation in stand age, legacy structure, soil type, and topography in a second-growth, oak-hardwood forest in the northeastern U.S. We compared surface soil carbon and nitrogen content and availability in 15 harvested stands managed to promote tree regeneration (n = 144 plots) and five unharvested controls (n = 48 plots). We also examined changes over time since harvest in just the harvested stands using a 22-year chronosequence. Forest management strongly influenced surface so..., Sampling design 
We conducted our work at Yale-Myers Forest (41° 57' N, 72°07’ W), a 3,213-ha mixed hardwood, second-growth forest in Connecticut, USA. We stratified our sampling by two soil types, nine timber harvest years, four topographic classes, and two distances relative to legacy overstory trees, which yielded 144 plots in 15 harvested stands managed through the regeneration treatments. We also established 48 plots in five unharvested stands following a similar sampling design.
To stratify sampling by soil type, we first identified all U.S. soil series at Yale-Myers Forest. We limited our sampling to oak-hardwood stands, which are most commonly managed through shelterwood and seed tree regeneration methods. Three soil series collectively accounted for 86% of oak-hardwood stands at the Forest: Nipmuck-Brookfield complex (39%), Paxton-Montauk fine sandy loams (26%), and Woodbridge fine sandy loams (21%). We excluded other soil types since they were not adequately replicated. We agg..., , # Local controls modify the effects of timber harvesting on surface soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4xgxd25jr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4xgxd25jr)

This data was collected to assess the effects of timber harvesting on surface soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a 22-year time since harvest chronosequence that consisted of stands treated through irregular shelterwood/seed tree silvicultural treatments to promote regeneration as well as unharvested controls. We used a stratified random sampling design to capture variation in stand age, legacy structure, soil type, and topography in a second-growth, oak-hardwood forest in the northeastern U.S. We used this data to compare surface soil carbon and nitrogen content and availability in 15 harvested stands managed to promote tree regeneration (*n* = 144 plots) and five unharvested controls (*n* = 48 plots). We also examined changes over time since harvest in just the harvested stands using a 22-year chron...