Multiple Element Limitation in Northeast Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE): Project description, plot characteristics and design

Although temperate forests are generally thought of as N-limited, resource optimization theory predicts
that ecosystem productivity should be co-limited by multiple nutrients. These ideas are represented in
the Multi-Element Limitation (MEL) model (Rastetter et al. 2012). To test the patterns of resource
limitation predicted by MEL, we are conducting nutrient manipulations in three study sites in New Hampshire:
Bartlett Experimental Forest (BEF), Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), and Jeffers Brook in the White Mountain National Forest. We are monitoring stem diameter, leaf area, sap flow, foliar chemistry, leaf litter production and chemistry,
foliar nutrient resorption, root biomass and production, mycorrhizal associations, soil respiration, heterotrophic respiration,
N and P availability, N mineralization, soil phosphatase activity, soil carbon and nitrogen, nutrient uptake capacity of roots,
and mineral weathering. These data can be found in the EDI repository, using the search term
"MELNHE" (http://portal.edirepository.org), and through the data catalog on https://hubbardbrook.org, using the same search term. This data package is referenced by the MELNHE datasets, and includes a datatable of site descriptions and
a pdf file with the project description, and diagrams of plot configuration. These data were gathered as part of the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study (HBES). The HBES is a collaborative
effort at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, which is operated and maintained by the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.