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 was recorded at 80 uniformly spaced points along permanent 40m x 2m transects. Percent cover of each substrate type on transect was estimated as the proportion of the 80 points contacted by the substrate type x 100. In cases where the substrate type was sand the depth of the sand was measured. The 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 last experimental removals of giant kelp occurred in winter 2016 or winter 2017, depending on the site. Data collection continued in all plots until spring 2023 to document the recovery trajectory of the reef fish community following the cessation of experimental kelp removal. 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)