Soil and invertebrate chemistry data for a forest clearcutting and residual biomass removal study at the Marcell Experimental Forest

This data publication contains soil and invertebrate chemistry data from a hillslope forest harvesting study that occurred between 2010-2013. The study follows a before-after-control-impact design, with measurements collected two years pre-harvest and two years post-harvest on a hillslope in the S7 research watershed at the USDA Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, USA. The north-facing hillslope in the S7 watershed drains into a peatland at the toe of the slope. The hillslope was divided into three treatment blocks: 1) an Unharvested Control that was not harvested, 2) a Biomass Left hillslope where residual biomass remained on the ground, and 3) a Biomass Removed hillslope where residual biomass was harvested. Prior to harvesting the forest cover was mixed northern hardwoods, predominately comprised of sugar maple (Acer saccharum), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera). During 2011 (pre-harvest) and 2012 (post-harvest) enriched stable mercury isotopes were applied during light spring rain fall events to add a tracer for the assessment of changes in recently deposited mercury mobility due to forestry practices. The data consist of peat total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in organic soils, mercury methylation rate constants, and MeHg in macroinvertebrates of the downgradient peatland collected from 2010 to 2012.
These data were collected as part of a hillslope-scale forestry experiment to determine the effects of residual biomass removal on hillslope hydrology and mercury mobilization.