1. ABOUT THE DATASET
Title: Raw data of an experiment to assess the effect of plant residue size, quality, and diversity, applied as mulch, on soil nutrient dynamics, on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi root colonization, and on crop plant yield and quality. 
Creator: Dimitrios Gaitanis
Organization: Department of Sustainable Land Management & Soil Research Centre, School of Agriculture Policy and Development, University of Reading 
Rights-holders: Dimitrios Gaitanis 
Publication year: 2022
Description: This dataset concerns an experiment conducted in rhizotrons in 2018 at the University of Reading in UK. Two barley plants were grown in each rhizotron, and mulch of diverse plant residues were applied. The purpose of the experiment was to assess the effect of size, quality, and diversity of plant residue mulch on soil nutrients, on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi root colonization, and on crop plant yield and quality. There were four different types of plant residues: i) Perennial rye grass (P) (1 plant species), ii) Smart grass (S) (6 plant species), iii) Biomix (B) (12 plant species), and iv) Herbal mix (H) (17 plant species). Each residue type was separated in a short residue treatment (residue size 1.5 cm), and in a long residue treatment (residue size about 30 cm) and there was also a Control treatment with no residues. Therefore, there were 9 different treatments in total. Soil samples were collected on day 70 and on day 137 after mulch application. The dataset consists of 3 parts: 
i) data relevant to the barley plants (Hordeum vulgare L., var. Laureate) which were cultivated in rhizotrons. Data characteristics recorded concern the growth rate of barley plants (main stem elongation rate, length of ears), the dry mass of different parts of the barley plants (overground plants, roots, ears, and seeds), seed quality (C, N, and protein content), yield, and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi root colonization, 
ii) data relevant to the plant residues that were applied as mulch on the soil surface of the rhizotrons. Data characteristics recorded concern plant residue initial dry mass, recalcitrance, C and N content, and final plant residue dry mass, C and N content, 
iii) data relevant to the soil of the rhizotrons. Data characteristics recorded concern soil available N as NO3- and NH4+, soil available P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu, soil bulk density, and soil solution pH.     
Cite as: Dimitrios Gaitanis (2022): University of Reading. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.17864/1947.000395.
Related publication: Gaitanis, D., Lukac, M., and Tibbett, M., (2022) ‘Fragment size and diversity of mulches affect their decomposition, nutrient dynamics, and soil microbiology’, Scientific Reports. Submitted.
Contact: Dimitrios Gaitanis, dimgaitan@yahoo.com 
2. TERMS OF USE
Copyright 2022 Dimitrios Gaitanis. This dataset is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
3. PROJECT AND FUNDING INFORMATION
This dataset was not created in the course of a funded project.
4. CONTENTS
File listing:
Raw data
1) Barley plants
1.1) Barley ear dry mass (without seeds)
1.2) Barley growing stage (height of the main stem of barley plants from the soil surface to the base of the flag leaf)
1.3) Barley plant overground dry mass (barley plant dry mass without roots, ears, and seeds)
1.4) Barley root dry mass (root dry mass of both barley plants per rhizotron)
1.5) Barley seed flour protein (seed protein, C, and N content including seeds from both plants per rhizotron)
1.6) Barley seeds dry mass (length of ears, number of seeds per ear, and seed fresh and dry mass per ear)
1.7) Mycorrhizal colonization (in the roots of the barley plants at the end of the growing season)
1.8) PCA coded data (collective data that was used for Principal Component Analysis)  
2) Plant residues
2.1)	Initial plant residue recalcitrance (initial plant residue NDF, ADF, and lignin content, at the beginning of the experiment)
2.2)	Plant residue initial dry mass (initial plant residue dry mass, at the beginning of the experiment, prior to their application in rhizotrons)
2.3)	Plant residue initial CN ratio (initial plant residue C:N ratio, at the beginning of the experiment, prior to their application in rhizotrons)
2.4)	Plant residue final dry mass (final plant residue dry mass, at the end of the experiment)
2.5)	Plant residue final CN ratio (final plant residue C:N ratio, at the end of the experiment) 
3) Soil
3.1)	Mehlich3 data (soil available P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu according to Mehlich 3 method, at the depths of 0-5 and 20-25 cm, on soil samples from September and from November)
3.2)	Mehlich3 sample preparation (mass of air dry and oven dry soil samples during sampling preparation)
3.3)	Soil available N (soil available N as NO3- and NH4+ at the depths of 5-10, 50-55, and 70-75 cm, from the left side of rhizotrons in September, and the middle and right side in November, by the method of KCl extraction)
3.4)	Soil bulk density (soil bulk density estimated from soil samples at 10-20 cm depth from the middle of the rhizotrons at the end of the experiment)
3.5)	Soil solution pH (soil solution pH estimated from soil samples at 5-10 cm depth at the end of the experiment)
5. METHODS
Total C, N, and protein content were estimated by the LECO CHN 628 analyser (LECO Corporation). [1]
Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF = hemicellulose + cellulose + lignin), Acid Detergent Fibre (cellulose + lignin), and Acid Detergent Lignin (ADL = lignin) were estimated according to ANKOM Technology protocols (ANKOM Technology). [2]
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi root colonization was estimated by the black ink staining method according to Vierheilig et al. [3]  
Soil available N (NO3-, and NH4+) was estimated by the KCl extraction method according to Great Britain M.A.F.F. standard protocol. [4]
Soil available nutrients P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, and Cu were estimated by the Mehlich 3 method. [5]

References:
[1] LECO Corporation | https://www.leco.com/product/628series. Accessed 4 March 2018. 
[2] ANKOM Technology, a | https://www.ankom.com/product-catalog/ankom-200-fiber-analyzer. Accessed 19 Oct 2018.
[3] Vierheilig, H., Coughlan, A.P., Wyss, U. and Piche, Y. (1998) Ink and Vinegar, a simple staining technique for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 64, 5004-5007. doi: 10.1128/AEM.64.12.5004-5007.1998.
[4] Great Britain. M.A.F.F. (1986) The Analysis of agricultural materials?: a manual of the analytical methods used by the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service / Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Edited by G. B. A. D. and A. Service and F. and F. Great Britain. Ministry of Agriculture. London: H.M.S.O (Reference book (Great Britain. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food)?; 427.).
[5] Mehlich, A. (1984) ‘Mehlich 3 soil test extractant: A modification of Mehlich 2 extractant’, Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. Taylor & Francis, 15(12), pp. 1409–1416. doi: 10.1080/00103628409367568.