Data (soil and foliar) for the study on the potential effects of the interaction between regional air pollution and land-use history (grazing) along an elevational gradient on Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) and Himalayan spruce (Picea smithiana) at Kufri, HP, India

These are foliar data from Himalayan cedar and Himalayan spruce together with relative soil core and soil pit data, collected from four locations along an elevational gradient within the Shimla Water Catchment Wildlife Sanctuary at Kufri, Himachal Pradesh, India. The foliar metabolites and soil characteristics are part of a study on the impacts of local and regional drivers of forest health in a forested catchment in the lower Himalayan Mountains of India. In late October of 2009, foliage from 10 randomly selected Himalayan cedar (from southerly aspect) was collected from 4 plots ranging in elevation from Ridge (2649 meters [m]), High (2539 m), Mid (2425 m), to Low (2371 m), and from 10 random Himalayan spruce (from northerly aspect) from Ridge (2649 m) and Low (2371 m) elevations; together these plots represent an elevational gradient. Five soil cores (top 10 centimeters) and one soil pit (soil profile with A & B horizons) were also collected near the cedar foliage sampling sites. Foliar data includes free polyamines, free amino acids, soluble ions, chlorophyll, and soluble protein analyzed by HPLC, ICP-OES and spectrophotometer. Soil data includes soil pH, % organic matter, total N and C, exchangeable ions, acidity and effective cation exchange capacity by pH meter, flash combustion quantified by TCD and ICP-OES.
The goal of this study was to evaluate how regional air pollution interacts with local land management to impact soil nutrient availability and forest health within a forested catchment in the lower Himalayan Mountains of India.
Original publication date was 12/17/2020. Minor metadata updates were made on 03/09/2021. On 03/30/2021 metadata was updated to include reference to Minocha et al. (2021) which is directly related to these data.