Data for decomposition rates and litter stabilization factor in two regions of ecotone forests in northern Brazilian Amazonia: applying the TBI method
Description
This dataset provides information on decomposition rates (k) and litter stabilization factor (S) for two regions of ecotone forests located in the state of Roraima, northern Brazilian Amazonia: Maracá Ecological Station and Viruá National Park. Both are protected areas managed by Brazilian Government. Each one has a PPBio (Biodiversity Research Program) 25-km2 research grid where 30 permanent plots were systematically dispersed along of the six East-West trails (see grid details at https://ppbio.inpa.gov.br). We took advantage of 15 permanent plots of each research grid to use the tea bag index (TBI) method as sampling reference (see Keuskamp et al., 2003), and applied a specific sampling protocol to the all PPBio grids and modules with permanent plots (see https://ppbio.inpa.gov.br/sites/default/files/2019%20Protocolo%20TBI-2019.04.02_eng_0.pdf). The TBI method uses two distinct and standardized commercial teas from Lipton: "green tea" (less recalcitrant) and "rooibos tea" (more recalcitrant). We used the commercial version defined as 2.0 (non-woven bags / polypropylene mesh). All bags are tetrahedral of edge length 5 cm and a 0.25 mm mesh. The dataset is presented in three files: (i) study_sites - a map indicating the geographical location of the two PPBio research grids and the permanent plots used in the study; (ii) decomp_maraca - decomposition rates (k) and litter stabilization factor (S) for permanent plots in Maracá, including identification of all plots and their geographical location (UTM and altitude - m a.s.l.) as specified in the metadata of the research grids (see https://ppbiodata.inpa.gov.br/metacatui/); (iii) decomp_virua - decomposition rates (k) and litter stabilization factor (S) for permanent plots in Viruá, including identification of all plots and their geographical location (UTM and altitude - m a.s.l.) as specified in the metadata of the research grids (see https://ppbiodata.inpa.gov.br/metacatui/). This dataset was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq - Brazil) through the PELD Program (CNPq/CAPES/FAPs/BC-Fundo Newton; Proc. n. 441575/2016-1). The CNPq also provided a fellowship for R.I. Barbosa (CNPq 304204/2015-3). Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) provided authorization for the study (SISBIO n. 64720-1).