Contribution of biocrusts to soil respiration and its responses to soil temperature and rainfall in a typical grassland on the Loess Plateau, Northwest China

Biological soil crusts (or biocrusts) exert a critical influence on carbon cycling in arid and semi-arid ecosystems.  However, the contribution of biocrusts to soil respiration and the mechanisms underlying their environmental responses remain unresolved,hindering accurate quantification of soil carbon efflux in drylands. This study focuses on the mixed crust of the Loess Plateau and collects daily soil respiration dynamics and environmental factor data in the experimental area during the 2021 growing season (April October) using an automatic measurement system for soil CO2 flux and a tipping bucket rain gauge.

The soil respiration data includes the soil respiration rate (μmol m-2 s-1) of crust cover and bare soil after crust removal. The environmental factor data includes soil temperature (℃), soil moisture (m3 m-3), and precipitation (mm) data. This dataset can provide important basic data support for accurately assessing the impact of crust formation on soil respiration under the background of climate change.