Oriental Bittersweet Microbial Communities Across a Post Glacial Successional Gradient at Indiana Dunes National Park, 2017

This data release contains soil and vegetation data collected along a post glacial chronosequence associated with populations of oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) at the Indiana Dunes National Park. The post glacial chronosequence includes sand dunes and moraines, representing a successional gradient from woodland transition, to oak savanna, woodland and forest, to oak hickory forests on the Lake Border Moraine. Soil samples were collected from August 24, 2017 to September 1, 2017; vegetation cover data (percent cover by species) were collected from 1/4-meter squared plots (0.5 by 0.5 m) where the soil samples were taken. DNA extracted from soil and rhizosphere samples were analyzed for bacterial communities using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing technique to understand the composition and distribution of these communities in relation to the presence of oriental bittersweet. Bulk soil samples were processed for standard soil chemistry, texture (percent sand, silt, and clay), and nutrients. Nucleotide sequences are available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra. Bacteria rhizosphere communities of Asiatic Bittersweet across a dunal soil chronosequence - BioProject ; Bioproject number PRJNA826510:: Accession numbers SRX14858481-SRX14858544