Raw data for submicron-scale mineral weathering and organo-mineral association in the rhizosphere of iron ore tailings

This study hypothesized that (1) root colonization enhances mineral weathering and the formation of reactive minerals; (2) root-derived organic matter is heterogeneously stabilized on Fe bearing minerals at submicron scale; (3) mineral transformation and organic matter stabilization increase with weathering degree and vary with particle sizes. These data showed the pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and C:N ratio of bulk and fraction tailings samples before and after plant colonization. The plant shoot and dry weight among treatments after experiment were also included. These data directly demonstrated that plant colonization accelerated rhizosphere mineral weathering and organic matter stabilization although there were differences among aged vs. fresh tailings, and coarse vs. fine mineral particles. The pH and and EC were determined by using a pH electrode (TPS 900) and an EC electrode (TPS 2100), and the TOC and TN were measured by elemental analyzer (Elementar Vario MAX, Germany).