Data from: ‘Integrated crop-livestock effects on soil carbon and nitrogen in a semiarid region’

Understanding integrated crop-livestock (ICL) management effects on soil carbon and nitrogen can help inform the design of agricultural practices that maintain key soil functions and contribute to agricultural sustainability. In the semiarid northern Great Plains, ICL management effects on soil carbon and nitrogen occur slowly, underscoring the importance of long-term experiments where biophysical metrics are measured consistently over time. In 1999, an ICL experiment was initiated approximately 5 km southwest of Mandan, ND USA on a Temvik-Wilton silt loam soil (USDA: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive frigid Typic and Pachic Haplustoll). The experiment included three residue management treatments, replicated twice: CONTROL (no residue removal), GRAZE (residue removed by livestock grazing), and REMOVED (residue removed by mechanical harvest). Soil properties measured during the study included soil bulk density, total soil nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and soil inorganic carbon. Measurements were made in 1999 (baseline) and 2014. Samples were collected using a hydraulic probe in depth increments of 0-8, 8-15, 15-31, 31-61, 61-91, 91-122 cm. Three cores from each treatment were composited by depth during each sampling. Soil carbon and nitrogen were quantified by the dry combustion method, while soil inorganic carbon was quantified using the volumetric calcimeter method. Data may be used to understand soil property responses to residue management for ICL production systems. Data are generally applicable to cropland under a semiarid Continental climate for the following soil types: Grassna, Linton, Mandan, Temvik, Williams, and Wilton.