Effects of belowground microbial communities on plant performance differ between a colonising and mid-successional seagrass species

This data is from a field experiment that tested how bulk sediment type (from Zostera muelleri, Halophila ovalis or unvegetated sediments) and rhizosphere microbial communities (intact or disrupted) affect the performance of two different seagrass species, Zostera muelleri and Halophila ovalis. Seagrasses were set up in garden pots in the field for six weeks (Dec 2023 - Jan 2024). Measurements were taken of plant performance, sediment characteristics and rhizosphere and bulk sediment bacterial communities. The plant and sediment characteristics data is available in a separate database at 10.5281/zenodo.18971994. The data files available here include sequences from rhizosphere sediment and bulk sediment samples that were sequenced to target the v3-4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene using the MiSeq sequencing system with a 2 x 300bp MiSeq Reagent Kit v3. Please contact the corresponding author when using this data.