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DOE OSTI · 3377028

Microbial community data from throughfall exclusion experiment: Metadata, SI, community composition, LefSe, and FunGuilR data tables from PARCHED Panama tropical forest soils, 2024-2025

McLaughlin, Grace [Colorado State University] (ORCID:000900019551245X)·Cusack, Daniela [Colorado State University] (ORCID:0000000346817449)·Saltonstall, Kristin [Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute] (ORCID:0000000218114087)·Chacon, Stephany (ORCID:0000000175999152)·Bouskill, Nicholas [Oregon State University] (ORCID:0000000265778724)
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Abstract

Soil contains more carbon (C) than terrestrial vegetation and the atmosphere combined, with some of the largest terrestrial C stocks in tropical rainforests. Soil microbes decompose organic matter, playing a vital role in the storage or loss of soil C. With climate change, drought conditions are predicted to increase in many tropical regions, including both chronic drying and extended drought, potentially influencing these processes. This project explored the effects of chronic and seasonal drying on soil microbial communities across four distinct tropical forests in a long-term drying experiment. We investigated the effects of a chronic drying manipulation on soil microbial community abundance and variation across different forests and seasons. We also compared findings with previously published data from these forests after short-term drying. This project used soils from a long-term drying experiment established in 2018 across four seasonal lowland forests in Panama. Soils were collected from 0 – 10 cm depths during three seasonal periods in control and drying plots in 2024 and 2025 from a total of 32 plots (n = 4 per forest per treatment). The forests varied in baseline rainfall and soil fertility. We calculated alpha and beta diversity indices and compared taxonomic community composition. We found significant biogeographic variation in microbial diversity and taxonomy, with significant differences across the forests and significant effects of the drying treatment. Metadata and sample IDs are within Metadata_16S.csv and Metadata_ITS.csv. Relative abundance tables of every sample at every season are shown in the Excel workbooks 16S Relative Abundance.xlsx and ITS Relative Abundance.xlsx. They are then also shown in CSV files by each taxonomic level. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSe) tables are shown for the full 16S and ITS datasets (n = 96), subsets for every site at every season (n = 8), and then for the forests with each plot merged by season (n = 8). FunGuildR data table of ITS data is uploaded.

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BacteriaCarbonCommunity CompositionDroughtEarth Science > Land Surface > Soils > CarbonEarth Science > Land Surface > Soils > MicrofloraEarth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Microflora > Relative AbundanceEarth Science > Land Surface > Soils > NitrogenEarth Science > Land Surface > Soils > PhosphorousEarth Science > Land Surface > Soils > Soil Moisture/ Water ContentFungusMean Annual PrecipitationPanamaPrecipitation Throughfall ExperimentRelative AbundanceSeasonSoil Microbial CommunitiesSoil MoistureTropical Forest SoilsTropical Forests

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McLaughlin, Grace [Colorado State University] (ORCID:000900019551245X), Cusack, Daniela [Colorado State University] (ORCID:0000000346817449), Saltonstall, Kristin [Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute] (ORCID:0000000218114087), Chacon, Stephany (ORCID:0000000175999152), Bouskill, Nicholas [Oregon State University] (ORCID:0000000265778724). 2026-01-01. Microbial community data from throughfall exclusion experiment: Metadata, SI, community composition, LefSe, and FunGuilR data tables from PARCHED Panama tropical forest soils, 2024-2025. https://doi.org/10.15485/3377028

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