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Abstract

We provide geochemical data for three sites that define a gradient of erosion rates – an “erodosequence”. These sites are the Swiss Central Alps, a rapidly-eroding post-glacial mountain belt; the Southern Sierra Nevada, USA, eroding at moderate rates; and the slowly-eroding tropical Highlands of central Sri Lanka. Specifically, we provide silicon isotope ratios and germanium/silicon ratios and the major element composition of 1) rock, 2) saprolite, 3) soil, 4) plants, 5) river dissolved loads, 6) the soil and saprolite amorphous silica fraction (accessed with a NaOH leach), and 7) the soil and saprolite clay-size fraction (isolated with a differential settling protocol). These data serve two purposes. First, they allow us to improve understanding of the controls on silicon isotopes and germanium/silicon ratios in the 'Critical Zone'. Specifically, we can quantify the fractionation factors (for silicon isotopes) and the exchange coefficients (for germanium/silicon ratios), for secondary mineral precipitation and for biological uptake. Secondly, we can use mass-balance approaches to quantify the partitioning of silicon - a nutrient, and a major rock-forming element - among secondary minerals, plant material, and solutes. All samples are assigned with International Geo Sample Numbers (IGSN), a globally unique and persistent Identifier for physical samples. The IGSNs are provided in the data tables and link to a comprehensive sample description. This dataset consists of five tables: S1. Analyses of soil, saprolite, and rock from the Swiss Alps study site S2. Analyses of soil, saprolite, and rock from the Sierra Nevada study site S3. Analyses of soil, saprolite, and rock from the Sri Lanka study site S4. Analyses of stream water from the Swiss Alps, Sierra Nevada, and Sri Lanka study sites S5. Analyses of plant material from the Swiss Alps, Sierra Nevada, and Sri Lanka study sites