SBC LTER: Reef: Kelp Forest Community Dynamics: Cover of bottom substrate and sand depth

These data describe the percent cover of eight bottom substrate types as determined by a uniform point contact method. The type of bottom substrate is recorded at 80 uniformly spaced points along permanent 40m x 2m transects. Percent cover of each substrate type on a transect is estimated as the proportion of the 80 points contacted by that substrate type x 100. In cases where the substrate type is sand, the depth of the sand is measured. These data are part of the SBC LTER’s time series observations of kelp forest dynamics, which began in 2000 and was designed to track long-term patterns in species abundance and diversity of reef-associated organisms in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, USA. The sampling locations in this dataset include nine reef sites along the mainland coast of the Santa Barbara Channel and two on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. These 11 sites were chosen to reflect the wide range of oceanographic conditions present in the Channel and proximity to sources of terrestrial runoff. Data are collected at each site once per year in summer and this dataset is updated annually. The time period of data collection varied among the 11 reef sites. Sampling at BULL, CARP, and NAPL began in 2000, sampling at the other 6 mainland sites (AHND, AQUE, IVEE, GOLB, ABUR, MOHK) began in 2001 (transects 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 at IVEE were added in 2011). Data collection at the two Santa Cruz Island sites (SCTW and SCDI) began in 2004. The two tables in this data package include: 1) The percent cover of eight bottom substrate types; and 2) the sand depth of each sampling point (sand depth = 0 if substrate type ≠sand).