16S rRNA in Scandinavian soil - altitudinal transects

The sampling locations (n=34) were situated in the Scandinavian Mountains in the north of Sweden and Norway, 160 km north of the Arctic Circle. The sampling sites were located in the natural vegetation along two mountain trails and three mountain roads, with altitudes ranging from sea level (13.6 m asl) to almost 1200 m asl. Table 1 lists the coordinates and altitude of the sampling sites, that are part of a framework of long-term vegetation survey plots of the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN; mountaininvastions.org). The sites were located 50 m from the roadside or 10 m from the trailside, beyond the disturbance effect and next to a temperature sensor (distance = 5 to 100 cm, depending on the availability of soil). Each sample consisted of a composite of 4 soil cores (diam. 2cm), taken within a 1 m radius, collecting the top 5 cm of the soil.