Twerski, Alina; Schmidt, Annika; Laschke, Christin Juno; Sturm, Line; Wiesmeier, Miriam; Kirmer, Anita; Kollmann, Johannes; Temperton, Vicky M: Soil chemistry and soil bulk density data from restored grasslands and reference sites in Germany [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.988202 (dataset in review)
Abstract:
This dataset provides information on soil chemistry and soil bulk density as part of the Grassworks project, which investigates the restoration of species-rich grasslands in Germany. Grasslands are globally threatened ecosystems, and the project aims to identify factors that contribute to successful restoration, focusing on ecological complexity and stakeholder engagement. Data was collected from 187 grassland sites across three regions in North, Central, and South Germany, each with distinct socio-economic and ecological characteristics. Sampling occurred between 2022 and 2023 and included 40-41 restored grassland sites and 20-25 reference sites (10-12 positive, 10-13 negative) per region.
At each site in March or early April at each vegetation plot, we took soil samples (pooled from six soil cores, 20 mm diameter) that were further pooled into one sample per site and analyzed for total soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen content, pH (both actual and potential pH), and soil texture as well as microbial biomass (carbon based). Additionally, soil bulk density was measured at two locations per site, to enable future assessment of carbon sequestration over time. Soil and bulk density samples were taken at two depths: 0–10 and 10–30 cm. These depths are commonly sampled across Germany, allowing national and international comparisons in line with standard synthesis project procedures in Germany (Poeplau et al. 2020).
Related to:
Temperton, Vicky M; Pătru-Dușe, Ioana Alexandra; Twerski, Alina; Laeseke, Philipp; Neudert, Regina; Cebrián-Piqueras, Miguel Ángel; Pacheco-Romero, Manuel; Bauer, Markus; Beckmann, Volker; Fischer, Jörn; Gray, Konrad; Härdtle, Werner; Kollmann, Johannes; Kuhn, Lukas; Laschke, Christin Juno; Loos, Jacqueline; Lutz, Lotte; May, Felix; Meyer, Michaela; Martin-Lopez, Berta; Riechers, Maraja; Ptacek, Moritz; Seifert, Desirée; Schmidt, Annika; Sturm, Line; Thiele, Jan; Tischew, Sabine; Unseld, Liselotte; Venus, Terese; Wiesmeier, Miriam; Kirmer, Anita (2025): Proposing a social‐ecological framework for successful grassland restoration in Germany—an overview and insights from the Grassworks project. Restoration Ecology, 33(7), e70109, https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70109
Twerski, Alina; Schmidt, Annika; Laschke, Christin Juno; Sturm, Line; Wiesmeier, Miriam; Kirmer, Anita; Kollmann, Johannes; Temperton, Vicky M: Butterflies observation data from restored grasslands and reference sites in Germany [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.982396
References:
Ad-hoc-Arbeitsgruppe Boden (2005): Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung (KA5), 5th edition. Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover, Germany, https://www.bafg.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/baggergut/kartieranleitung.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1
Poeplau, Christopher; Don, Axel; Flessa, Heinz; Heidkamp, Arne; Jacobs, Anna; Prietz, Roland (2020): Erste Bodenzustandserhebung Landwirtschaft – Kerndatensatz. https://doi.org/10.3220/DATA20200203151139
Project(s):
Funding:
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 03LW0094K: BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Koordination, Sozialökologie und Modellregion Nord
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 03LW0095: BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Koordination und Modellregion Mitte
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 03LW0096: BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Modellregion Süd
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 16LW0094K: BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Koordination, Sozialökologie und Modellregion Nord
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 16LW0095: BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Koordination und Modellregion Mitte
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), grant/award no. 16LW0096: BiodiWert II: Konzepte zur Wiederherstellung von artenreichem Grünland in Deutschland (Grassworks-2) - Modellregion Süd
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 51.167701 * Median Longitude: 11.592888 * South-bound Latitude: 48.220000 * West-bound Longitude: 9.640000 * North-bound Latitude: 54.370000 * East-bound Longitude: 13.050000
Date/Time Start: 2022-03-09T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2023-10-23T00:00:00
Event(s):
M-ALT * Latitude: 51.820000 * Longitude: 11.740000 * Date/Time Start: 2022-03-01T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2022-09-01T00:00:00 * Location: Central Germany * Method/Device: Multiple investigations (MULT)
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Project | Project | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 2 | Event label | Event | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 3 | Location of event | Location | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 4 | Latitude of event | Latitude | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 5 | Longitude of event | Longitude | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 6 | Precision | Precis | Twerski, Alina | Spatial precision as number of decimal digits for geographic position (latitude, longitude) | ||
| 7 | Restoration, start | Restoration start | Twerski, Alina | Start of the restoration of this site (year) | ||
| 8 | Restoration, method | Restoration method | Twerski, Alina | Restoration method of site: cus = sowing of cultivar seed mixture, consisting of cultivated grasses and forbs, typically characterized by low species diversity and a small proportion of forb species; dih = direct harvest included the transfer of fresh plant material or threshing material from a nearby species-rich donor site to a receiver site; mga = management adaptation without the introduction of species in which a site-specific adjustment of disturbance management was applied, e.g. the reintroduction of mowing or grazing on abandoned sites; res = sowing of seed mixtures derived from certified wild seed propagations of regional provenance, which generally feature high species diversity (regional seed mixture). | ||
| 9 | Land use, history | Land use history | Twerski, Alina | Land use history of site: arable land, grassland | ||
| 10 | Site information | Site info | Twerski, Alina | Site type of site: negative reference site, positive reference site, restored site | ||
| 11 | Hydrology | Hydrology | Twerski, Alina | Hydrology of site: dry, fresh, moist | ||
| 12 | Management | Management | Twerski, Alina | Management type of site: both (grazing and mowing), grazing, none, mowing | ||
| 13 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Twerski, Alina | Geocode | ||
| 14 | Depth, soil, minimum | Depth soil min | m | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 15 | Depth, soil, maximum | Depth soil max | m | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 16 | Subtransect | Subtransect | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 17 | Number of cores | Cores | # | Twerski, Alina | Pooled per site for analysis | Number of soil cores taken (20 mm diameter); pooled for analysis |
| 18 | Sample type | Samp type | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 19 | Observer | Observer | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 20 | Subsample, dry mass | Subsamp dry m | g | Twerski, Alina | Weighing dry mass, size fraction >2 mm | |
| 21 | Subsample, dry mass | Subsamp dry m | g | Twerski, Alina | Weighing dry mass, size fraction <2 mm | |
| 22 | Sample, dry mass | Samp dm | g | Twerski, Alina | Calculated | |
| 23 | Sample, wet mass | Samp wet m | g | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 24 | pH, soil | pH soil | Twerski, Alina | |||
| 25 | Carbon, total | TC | % | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 26 | Carbon, inorganic, total | TIC | % | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 27 | Carbon, organic, total | TOC | % | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 28 | Nitrogen, total | TN | % | Twerski, Alina | ||
| 29 | Soil texture classification | Soil texture class | Twerski, Alina | Soil texture evaluation by finger test; classification according to Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung (KA5) |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
17500 data points
Download Data (login required; moratorium until 2026-06-17)
View dataset as HTML (shows only first 2000 rows)