Integrated analysis of soil organic matter quality and phosphorus forms support a comprehensive evaluation of biogeochemical recovery during natural tropical dry forest regeneration

Abstract

This dataset contains soil calorimetric and phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (^31P NMR) data from tropical dry forest soils across a natural regeneration in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico.Soil samples were collected from the upper 10 cm (0–10 cm) of the mineral soil profile in tropical dry forests. Soil organic matter quality was assessed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), while phosphorus forms were determined through ^31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The dataset captures changes in soil organic matter quality and phosphorus composition during natural forest recovery following agricultural abandonment. These data can be used to investigate soil biogeochemical recovery during secondary succession and support studies on ecosystem restoration, nutrient cycling, and tropical dry forest management.