Soil and plant-based ecosystem functions dataset of three land-use types in northwestern Virginia

Variables that quantify nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, including aboveground and belowground biomass, litter biomass, inorganic nitrogen (NH4+ and NO3−), and soil CO2 efflux were measured in situ. From measured variables, seasonal litter inputs and nitrogen mineralization were also estimated. Data were collected over the course of one to two growing seasons (2017 and 2018) across three different land-use types under variable human management: an agricultural field (cultivating millet for the duration of the first growing season of the study and left fallow for the duration of the second growing season), a restored native C4 tallgrass prairie, and an approximately 16-year-old successional field. The area of focus within each field was approximately 1 hectare. Five representative 5 m x 5 m plots were randomly chosen in each of the three fields. Within each 5 m x 5 m plot, three 1 m2 subplots were randomly chosen for replicate sampling. These raw data can be utilized to calculate the ecosystem functions of net nitrogen (N) mineralization, decomposition, soil respiration, aboveground primary productivity, and N leaching, which are foundational components of supporting ecosystem services in terrestrial soils and plants. These data can be used in conjunction with other datasets that describe a suite of ecosystem functions in different land-use types under variable management.