This dataset contains data on aboveground litter fluxes, soil respiration, basal area and microclimate of 24 forests stands in South-Eastern Norway. The stands were paired across forest management history, so that each of the 12 pairs consists of one previously clear-cut forest (aged 43–82) and one near-natural forest i.e. never clear-cut (mean age of dominating trees 96–189). We studied how forest management history affects carbon fluxes, and which factors drive soil respiration in these 24 stands. This study is part of the EcoForest project: https://ecoforest.no/