Linking Land Use Transitions to Soil Carbon Dynamics and Management Indices: A Functional Indicator-Based Approach

This dataset investigates the impacts of land use change (forest, orchard, cropland, and abandoned land) on soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and related indicators in a sub-humid watershed of northeastern Iran. Measurements include total organic carbon (TOC), oxidizable carbon fractions (very labile, labile, less labile, non-labile), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), SOC stock, and the carbon management index (CMI) at 0–10 and 10–20 cm soil depths. Results demonstrate that conversion from forest to cropland or abandoned land significantly reduced TOC, MBC, and SOC stock, while shifting the balance from active to more stabilized carbon pools. CMI proved highly sensitive to SOC quality, highlighting its potential as an indicator of soil degradation or recovery under different land use systems