Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

This site is currently in beta, and your feedback is helping shape its ongoing development.

Data compilation of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements from global warming experiments from 1994-2014

Published by U.S. Geological Survey | Department of the Interior | Metadata Last Checked: January 27, 2026 | Last Modified: 2021-11-16T00:00:00Z
This dataset is the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and nearly two decades of warming experiments. Data for this study were obtained from a combination of unpublished data and published literature values. We find that although warming increases soil respiration rates, there is limited evidence for a shifting respiration response with experimental warming. We also note a universal decline in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at soil temperatures >25°C. This dataset includes 3817 observations, from control (n=1812), first (i.e., lowest or sole) level warming (n=1812), second (higher) level warming (n=179, four studies), and third-level warming (n=14, one study). Experiment locations ranged from 33.5 to 68.4 degrees N latitude and the duration of warming at experiments ranged from <1 to 22 years (average 5.1 years). Depths of soil temperature (1-10 cm) and moisture measurements (5-30) ranged across studies, but were always consistent between warmed and control plots within a particular study. Each site was classified into a particular biome (grassland, northern shrubland (i.e., peatlands and heathlands), southern shrubland (i.e., Mediterranean or sub-tropical shrublands)), tundra, desert, meadow, temperate agriculture, temperate forest and boreal forest) by the associated principal investigator (PI).

data.gov

An official website of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services

Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov