A compiled soil respiration dataset at different time scales for forest ecosystems across China from 2000 to 2018

China's forests rank fifth in the world by area, covering a broad climatic gradient from cold-temperate to tropical zones, and play a key role in the global carbon cycle. Studies of forest soil respiration (R-s) have increased rapidly in China over the last two decades, but the resulting R-s data need to be summarized. Here, we compile a comprehensive dataset of R-s in China's undisturbed forest ecosystems from the literature published up to 31 December 2018, including monthly R-s and the concurrently measured soil temperature (N=8317), mean monthly R-s (N=5003), and annual R-s (N=634). Detailed plot information was also recorded, such as geographical location, climate factors, stand characteristics, and measurement description. We examine some aspects of the dataset - R-s equations fitted with soil temperature, temperature sensitivity (Q10), monthly variations, and annual effluxes in cold-temperate, temperate, subtropical, and tropical zones. We hope the dataset will be used by the science community to provide a better understanding of the carbon cycle in China's forest ecosystems and reduce uncertainty in evaluating of carbon budget at a large scale. The dataset is publicly available at (Sun et al., 2022).

Automated summary

This article presents a comprehensive dataset of soil respiration in undisturbed forest ecosystems in China, including monthly respiration rate, soil temperature, and relevant information on climate factors and stand characteristics. The authors hope that the scientific community can utilize this dataset to enhance understanding of the carbon cycle in China's forest ecosystems and reduce uncertainty in large-scale carbon budget evaluations.