This collection contains measurements on physical soil properties of the plots of the different sub-experiments at the field site of a large grassland biodiversity experiment (the Jena Experiment; see further details below). In the main experiment, 82 grassland plots of 20 x 20 m were established from a pool of 60 species belonging to four functional groups (grasses, legumes, tall and small herbs). In May 2002, varying numbers of plant species from this species pool were sown into the plots to create a gradient of plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60 species) and functional richness (1, 2, 3, 4 functional groups). Plots were maintained by bi-annual weeding and mowing

This data set is an ongoing collection of measurements on physical soil properties of the plots of the Jena Experiment. Please refer to the individual datasets below. Additional data might be available (e.g. more recent years or other variables). If you are interested in this data, please directly contact the authors via the Jena Experiment data manager [http://www.the-jena-experiment.de/Contact.html].In case you want to cite this collection please use: “Christine Fischer; Anke Hildebrandt; Guangjuan Luo, Sebastian T. Meyer (2016) Collection of measurements on physical soil properties in plots of the Jena Experiment (time series since 2002), (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.865254) (downloaded [DATE])”