This data paper provides some biogeochemical nitrogen (N) properties and related chemical properties of forest soils from 39 sites throughout the Japanese archipelago. The data set was collected and analyzed under the GRENE (Green Network of Excellence) environmental information project and the ReSIN (Regional and comparative Soil Incubation study on Nitrogen dynamics in forest ecosystems) project. The sites cover 44°20¢N to 26°50¢N and the climate ranges from cool-temperate zone to subtropical zone. At each site, litter on forest floor and soil samples (three or four layers to 50 cm depth) were collected between August and November in 2010-2013 from five soil profiles. From the litter layer samples, the stocks and concentrations of total carbon (C) and N were measured. From the mineral soil samples, bulk density, pH (H 2 O), total C and N concentrations, net and gross rates of N mineralization, nitrification and concentrations of water-soluble substances were measured. The measurements are relevant for other biogeochemical N studies in forest ecosystems and the data set provides basic information on the N pool and fluxes with related chemical properties of forest soils across the Japanese archipelago. The average rates of net and gross N transformation at 20°C across the sites were 0.26 ± 0.47 mgN kg À1 soil d À1 for net N mineralization, 0.25 ± 0.45 mgN kg À1 soil d À1 for net nitrification, 4.06 ± 0.47 mgN kg À1 soil d À1 for
We investigated the soil and soil water chemistry in abandoned terraced paddy fields (reed stand) and a thicket of deciduous broad-leaved trees (thicket stand) on the same slope in Sado Island, Japan. The soils gathered from these plots were incubated under different water conditions to examine the dynamics of dissolved ions. The organic carbon pool in the soil in the reed stand at the lower slope position was greater than the thicket stand at the middle slope position. The high concentration of base cations and an almost neutral pH of the soil water at the reed stand corresponded with the high exchangeable cation concentrations and base saturation in the soil. These results reflect the mineral-rich groundwater percolating down the slope, which may be produced by chemical weathering. An in situ sulfate reduction in the reed stand at deeper soil horizons was identified. The different water conditions in the incubated soils affected the soil pH(H 2 O), transformation of Fe, and dominant anions (NO 3 -, HCO 3 -, and SO 4 2-). These biogeochemical processes were more conspicuous in the reed stand at the lower slope position where the concentrations of organic matter and base cations were high. When the abandoned terraced paddy field is developed for the conservation of the Japanese crested ibis (Nipponia nippon) habitat in Sado Island, the reductive subsoil at the lower slope position should be kept waterlogged to limit sulfuric acid generation.
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