Effects of biochar soil amendments on soil properties and plant recruitment in coastal climate change adaptation projects

Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced through the pyrolysis of organic waste from the agricultural and forestry industries. Because black carbon is chemically stable, its application to agricultural fields is being touted as a method to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as it has been shown to improve the fertility of the soil and crop yields as well as increase carbon sequestration. This data publication archives data from a set of paired restoration projects that incorporated biochar soil amendments to test the ability of biochar to provide positive ecosystem or carbon sequestration benefits., We used two field experiments to help determine whether the incorporation of biochar in coastal wetland restoration projects utilizing sediment addition promoted plant recruitment, sequestered carbon, or altered soil conditions. In the first experiment, replicated field plots (13 m2) were constructed within a large-scale (50 ha) sediment addition project, where the effect of 10% (v/v) Eucalyptus biochar soil amendments on plant growth and soil conditions were examined for three different sediment types. In the second experiment, we conducted a replicated field experiment at three tidal marshes where we simulated thin layer sediment placement at the scale of smaller plots (0.7 m x 0.7 m), examining the effect of two different biochar types (softwood biochar and biochar mixed with compost). These field experiments allow us to examine any commonalities in the effects of biochar incorporation into projects aimed to enhance salt marshes' condition and function through sediment additions.
Lan..., , # Effects of biochar soil amendments on soil properties and restoration success in coastal climate change adaptation projects

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x95x69psf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.x95x69psf)

### There are five files uploaded as part of this data release:

1. landscape_vegetation.csv - this file details the plant cover derived from drone imagery analysis in 2018-2023 in the landscape scale plots constructed at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.
2. landscape_soil.csv - this file details soil analysis for soils collected in summer 2022 from landscape scale plots.
3. plot_vegetation.csv - this file details the plant cover derived from point-intercept field surveys conducted at Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Prudence Island National Estuarine Research Reserve in November of 2017, September of 2018, March of 2019, August of 2019, and August of 2020.
4. plot_soil.csv - this fi...