Radiocarbon of deep fine roots across four in lowland seasonal tropical forests in Panama

Objectives: Fine roots are key to ecosystem-scale nutrient, carbon (C), and water cycling, but our understanding of fine root traits variation within and among tropical forests, one of Earth’s most C-rich ecosystems, is limited. In 2022 and 2023, we aimed to explore differences in deep root characteristics among four lowland tropical forests in Panama, which vary in fertility and mean annual precipitation. We measured radiocarbon content (fraction modern [FM] and Δ14C) and δ13C of live fine roots at depths greater than 80 cm, up to 120 cm. The goal was to understand how deep root characteristics differ across these sites. Datasets included: The datasets provided include .csv and .xlsx files for radiocarbon content (fraction modern [FM] and Δ14C) and δ13C of live fine roots at depths greater than 80 cm, up to 120 cm collected from late 2017 to 2018 across four different forests. Additionally, a .kml file is provided with coordinates for all 32 plots included in the study across four forests (n = 8 plots per site). This dataset serves as baseline data before a throughfall exclusion experiment, Panama Rainforest Changes with Experimental Drying (PARCHED), was implemented. No special software is needed to open these files.

研究目标：细根是支撑生态系统尺度养分、碳（C）与水循环的核心组分，但针对热带森林——地球碳储量最丰富的生态系统之一——内部及不同林分间细根功能性状变异的认知仍存在显著局限。2022至2023年，本研究以巴拿马4处土壤肥力与年平均降水量存在差异的低地热带森林为研究对象，旨在探究其深层根特征的差异。研究测定了深度80 cm至120 cm的活细根的放射性碳含量（现代碳分数[FM]与Δ¹⁴C）及δ¹³C值，以明确不同样地间深层根特征的分化规律。
数据集包含：本数据集涵盖2017年末至2018年间，从4处不同森林中采集的深度80 cm至120 cm的活细根的放射性碳含量（现代碳分数[FM]与Δ¹⁴C）及δ¹³C值对应的.csv与.xlsx格式文件。此外，还提供了包含该研究4处森林全部32个样地（每个样地设置8个样方）坐标的.kml格式文件。本数据集为穿透雨排除实验“巴拿马雨林随实验性干旱变化（Panama Rainforest Changes with Experimental Drying, PARCHED）”实施前的基线数据。上述文件无需专用软件即可打开。