Dataset on the Effects of Trampling Disturbance on Soil Organic Carbon Fractions in Urban Park Green Spaces

This procedure effectively separated the aggregates into four distinct size fractions: >2 mm, 2-0.25 mm, 0.25-0.053 mm, and <0.053 mm. Each fraction was subsequently oven-dried at 50°C and weighed to determine the mass percentage distribution(Han et al., 2024). For analytical purposes, we operationally defined the fractions as follows: >2 mm as macro-aggregates, 2–0.25 mm as medium-aggregates, 0.25–0.053 mm as small aggregates, and <0.053 mm as micro-aggregates.

Determination of Soil Organic Carbon Content: soil organic carbon (SOC) content was determined using the potassium dichromate oxidation-external heating method for both oven-dried (105°C) bulk soil samples and the four aggregate fractions (>2 mm, 2-0.25 mm, 0.25-0.053 mm, and <0.053 mm) obtained through wet sieving. All samples were finely ground to pass through a 0.25 mm sieve prior to analysis.2 Acid-hydrolyzable Organic Carbon The labile organic carbon fraction (LOC), recalcitrant organic carbon fraction (ROC), and inert organic carbon fraction (IOC) were determined using a two-step acid hydrolysis method.

The formulas for calculating the Carbon Management Index (CMI) from soil organic carbon fractions are as follows:Soil Carbon Pool Activity (SCPA) = Labile organic carbon content / (Recalcitrant organic carbon content + Inert organic carbon content) (4)Carbon Pool Index (CPI) = Treated soil organic carbon content / Control soil organic carbon content (5)Carbon Pool Activity Index (CPAI) = Treated soil carbon pool activity / Control soil carbon pool activity (6)Carbon Management Index (CMI) = CPI×CPAI× 100 (7)3 Microbial Biomass Carbon (MBC) Determined using the chloroform fumigation-extraction method.