Ecosystem Function Components, Blandy Experimental Farm

These data were collected during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons and are components of 5 ecosystem functions: primary productivity, net N mineralization, decomposition, leaching, and respiration. These were measured in 5 plots within 3 different land-use types: an agricultural field, a restored Virginia native plant meadow, and an unmanaged early successional field. The data were used in conjunction with a framework to quantify ecosystem functions in order to estimate supporting ecosystem services, which are difficult to quantify. Supporting ecosystem services that were estimated using these functions were: primary production, nutrient cycling, and soil production. We acknowledged that not all ecosystem functions are necessarily beneficial and therefore should not always be equated to services in and of themselves. For example, we acknowledge that leaching results in a loss of N from systems and that respiration, while associated with decomposition and soil formation, also results in a loss of C from systems.