Shifts in soil and plant functional diversity along an altitudinal gradient in the French Alps.

OBJECTIVES: Altitude integrates changes in environmental conditions that determine shifts in vegetation, including temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and edaphogenetic processes. In turn, vegetation alters soil biophysical properties through litter input, root growth, microbial and macrofaunal interactions. The belowground traits of plant communities modify soil processes in different ways, but it is not known how root traits influence soil biota at the community level. We collected data to investigate how elevation affects belowground community traits and soil microbial and faunal communities. This dataset comprises data from a temperate climate in France and a twin study was performed in a tropical zone in Mexico. DATA DESCRIPTION: The paper describes soil physical and chemical properties, climatic variables, plant community composition and species abundance, plant community traits, soil microbial functional diversity and macrofaunal abundance and diversity. Data are provided for six elevations (1400-2400 m) ranging from montane forest to alpine prairie. We focused on soil biophysical properties beneath three dominant plant species that structure local vegetation. These data are useful for understanding how shifts in vegetation communities affect belowground processes, such as water infiltration, soil aggregation and carbon storage. Data will also help researchers understand how plant communities adjust to a changing climate/environment.

Soluble and bound hydroxycinnamates in coffee pulp (Coffea arabica) from seven cultivars at three ripening stages.

The contents of soluble and bound hydroxycinnamates (HCAs) were analyzed in coffee pulp (CP) of seven cultivars of Coffea arabica at three different ripening stages. Methodologies for the extraction and analysis of HCAs were evaluated and improved. HCAs were present mainly in the soluble fraction (68-97%). Chlorogenic acid was the main phenolic acid (94-98%) in the soluble fraction, whereas caffeic acid was the most abundant HCA found in the bound fraction (72-88%). Small amounts of free and bound ferulic and p-coumaric acids were also detected. The content of total HCAs in CP reached the maximum concentration at the semiripe stage (7.4-25.5 mg/g CP, dw) but decreased at the ripe stage for six of the seven cultivars. These findings suggest that unripe or semiripe coffee cherries, considered as defective cherries, are a potential inexpensive source of phenolic compounds, such as chlorogenic and caffeic acids.