SBC LTER: Reef: Long-term experiment: Kelp removal: Cover of bottom substrate and sand depth

These data describe the percent cover of eight bottom substrate types within permanent plots of a long-term experiment designed to examine trajectories of change in the structure and productivity of kelp forest communities in response to changes in the frequency and severity of disturbance to giant kelp. 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 transect is estimated as the proportion of the 80 points contacted by the substrate type x 100. In cases where the substrate type is sand the depth of the sand is measured. The kelp disturbance experiment was initiated in 2008 at five reef sites along the mainland coast of the Santa Barbara Channel and included an annual kelp removal treatment designed to simulate increases in the frequency and severity of winter wave disturbance and a continual kelp removal treatment that allowed the effects of giant kelp on the community to be evaluated. 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 is not sand)