Two separate experiments were conducted to measure either bacterial or fungal growth as well as the respiration pulse upon rewetting of soils dried 4 days or for 1 year (henceforth “4-days dried” and “1-year dried”, respectively). Soil from a managed grassland in south Sweden, classified as a sandy loamy brown earth soil (Cambisol, FAO; Inceptisol, USDA), was collected in the autumn of 2012 (wet-sieved using 2.8 mm mesh-size; pHwater ¼ 6.6; SOM by loss on ignition (600 C overnight) ¼ 13.5%). This soil samplewas used for the moist control and 4-days dried soil. The same soil was also sampled in the autumn of 2011 (pHwater ¼ 6.2; SOM ¼ 15.2%), wet-sieved and air-dried for about one year, until the experiments were performed.