Data to support the role of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in coastal wetland carbon dynamics

Coastal wetlands store carbon in their soils. Carbon is produced by emergent biomass and in-situ root growth, as well as deposited through sedimentation. Burial of aboveground carbon within soils and disruption of long-term soil carbon storage are both influenced by the fauna present in coastal wetlands. Data were used to test the hypothesis that the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) offsets the losses of soil carbon as influenced by herbivores by serving in herbivore population control, thereby facilitating greater soil carbon storage when alligators are present. Data were either extracted on-line (https://serc.si.edu/coastal-carbon, accessed 11 July 2024) or through surveys conducted along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. R code for the analyses used is also provided.