Data from: Promoting success in thin layer sediment placement: effects of sediment grain size and amendments on salt marsh plant growth and greenhouse gas exchange

# Promoting success in thin layer sediment placement: effects of sediment grain size and amendments on salt marsh plant growth and greenhouse gas exchange We have presented data and code used for data analysis. Data includes data for experiment 1, where we analyzed soil and plant traits for plants grown in several sediment textures, experiment 2, where we analyzed soil and plant traits for plants grown in coarse sand with several soil amendments (biochar, compost, biochar and compost), and experiment 3, where we grew plants in sediments prone to acidification with and without biochar amendments. ## Description of the data and file structure There are three data files provided: (1) Experiment1AllData_corrected_CH4.cvs; (2) Experiment2AllData.cvs; (3) Experiment3AllData.cvs. ### Experiment 1: Where we analyzed soil and plant traits for plants grown in several sediment textures Experiment1AllData_corrected_CH4.cvs There are 30 fields in this file, consisting of the following column names: bucket, texture, Plant, Number, AGBiomass, BGBiomass, TotalBiomass, pH1, pH1Date, pH2, pH2Date, pH3, pH3Date, AvgpH, Sal1, Sal1Date, Sal2, Sal2Date, Sal3, Sal3Date, AvgSal, Photosynthesis, Respiration, NEE, ORP, Nutrients, NutrientDate, SHC, SHC_dummy, and Methane_L. * bucket - Each mesocosm bucket held four plants. Here we report which bucket the plant was in. G1 = green bucket number 1; G2= green bucket number 2; G3= green bucket number 3; R1 = red bucket number 1; R2= red bucket number 2; R3= red bucket number 3; B1 = blue bucket number 1; B2= blue bucket number 2; B3= blue bucket number 3; Y1 = yellow bucket number 1; Y2= yellow bucket number 2; Y3= yellow bucket number 3. * texture - Has one of four fields: Fine Sand, Medium Sand, Medium Silt, and Quarry Fines. S1= medium silt; S2=fine sand; S3 = quarry fines; S4=medium sand. * Plant - Has one of three fields: S. alterniflora, S. pacifica, and S. patens. Each refers to the abbreviation for the genus and species name. * Number - Replicate number (1-4). Each species / sediment type combination had four replicates. * AGBiomass - The aboveground biomass for each plant pot, converted to grams per square meter. * BGBiomass - The aboveground biomass for each plant pot, converted to grams per square meter. * TotalBiomass - The sum of above and belowground biomass for each plant po, in grams per square meter. * pH1 - First porewater pH measurement. * ph1Date - First porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH1 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * pH2 - Second porewater pH measurement. * pH2Date - Second porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH2 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * pH3 - Third porewater pH measurement. * pH3Date - Third porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH3 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * AvgpH - Average porewater pH.The average of pH1, pH2, and pH3. * Sal1 - First porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * SalDate - First porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal1 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * Sal2- Second porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * Sal2Date - Second porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal2 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * Sal3- Third porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * Sal3Date - Third porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal3 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * AvgSal - Average porewater salinity in parts per thousand. The average of Sal1, Sal2, and Sal3. * Photosynthesis - The difference between net ecosystem exchange and respiration, representing photosythesis, measured in micromoles of carbon dioxide per square meter per second. Negative values represent CO2 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CO2 emissions. * Respiration - Measurement of respiration of plant pots in an opaque (dark) chamber in micromoles of carbon dioxide per square meter per second. Negative values represent CO2 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CO2 emissions. * NEE - Measurement of net ecosystem exchange of plant pots in a clear chamber in micromoles of carbon dioxide per square meter per second. Negative values represent CO2 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CO2 emissions. * ORP - oxidation-reduction potential of soil, measured in milivolts (mV). * Nutrients - KCl extractable ammonium, in mg of NH4-N per g of dry sediment. * NutrientDate - The date the KCl extractions were conducted. * SHC - Saturated hydraulic conductivity of sediment in meters per second. Several SHC values were averaged to produce an average measure for each sediment type. * SHC_dummy - A dummy variable, where the smallest value is the slowest SHC (e.g., in fine sediments), and the largest value is the greatest SHC (e.g., in coarse sediments). * Methane_L - Measurement of net ecosystem exchange of methane in a clear chamber in micromoles of methane per square meter per hour. Negative values represent CH4 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CH4 emissions. ### Experiment 2: Where we analyzed soil and plant traits for plants grown in coasrse sand with and without biochar and compost treatments Experiment2AllData.cvs There are 29 fields in this file, consisting of the following column names: bucket, texture, Plant, Number, AGBiomass, BGBiomass, TotalBiomass, pH1, pH1Date, pH2, pH2Date, pH3, pH3Date, AvgpH, Sal1, Sal1Date, Sal2, Sal2Date, Sal3, Sal3Date, AvgSal, NEE, Respiration, Photosynthesis, ORP, Nutrients, NutrientDate, and Methane_L, and Dd13C. Missing data is denoted by -999. * Bucket - Each mesocosm bucket held four plants. Here we report which bucket the plant was in. W1 (raw sand), W2 (sand with biochar amendments), W3 (sand with compost amendments), and W4 (sand with biochar and compost amendments). * texture - Has one of four fields: Fine Sand, Medium Sand, Medium Silt, and Quarry Fines. S1= medium silt; S2=fine sand; S3 = quarry fines; S4=medium sand. * Plant - Has only one fields: S. alterniflora, the only plant grown in this experiment. * Number - Replicate number (1-4). Each species / sediment type combination had four replicates. * AGBiomass - The aboveground biomass for each plant pot, converted to grams per square meter. * BGBiomass - The aboveground biomass for each plant pot, converted to grams per square meter. * TotalBiomass - The sum of above and belowground biomass for each plant po, in grams per square meter. * pH1 - First porewater pH measurement. * ph1Date - First porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH1 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * pH2 - Second porewater pH measurement. * pH2Date - Second porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH2 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * pH3 - Third porewater pH measurement. * pH3Date - Third porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH3 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * AvgpH - Average porewater pH. The average of pH1, pH2, and pH3. * Sal1 - First porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * SalDate - First porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal1 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * Sal2- Second porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * Sal2Date - Second porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal2 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * Sal3- Third porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * Sal3Date - Third porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal3 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * AvgSal - Average porewater salinity in parts per thousand. The average of Sal1, Sal2, and Sal3. * NEE - Measurement of net ecosystem exchange of plant pots in a clear chamber in micromoles of carbon dioxide per square meter per second. Negative values represent CO2 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CO2 emissions. * Respiration - Measurement of respiration of plant pots in an opaque (dark) chamber in micromoles of carbon dioxide per square meter per second. Negative values represent CO2 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CO2 emissions. * Photosynthesis - The difference between net ecosystem exchange and respiration, representing photosythesis, measured in micromoles of carbon dioxide per square meter per second. Negative values represent CO2 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CO2 emissions. * ORP - oxidation-reduction potential of soil, measured in milivolts (mV). * Nutrients - KCl extractable ammonium, in mg of NH4-N per g of dry sediment. * NutrientDate - The date the KCl extractions were conducted. * Methane_L - Measurement of net ecosystem exchange of methane in a clear chamber in micromoles of methane per square meter per hour. Negative values represent CH4 assimilation, and positive values indicate net CH4 emissions. * Dd13C - Change over time in d13C per minute in permille (‰). ### Experiment 3: Where we analyzed soil and plant traits for plants grown in sediments prone to acidification with and without biochar amendments Experiment3AllData.cvs - There are 25 fields in this file, consisting of the following column names: bucket, texture, Plant, Number, AGBiomass, BGBiomass, TotalBiomass, pH1, pH1Date, pH2, pH2Date, pH3, pH3Date, AvgpH, Sal1, Sal1Date, Sal2, Sal2Date, Sal3, Sal3Date, AvgSal, ORP, Nutrients, NutrientDate, and Alkalinity. * Bucket - Each mesocosm bucket held four plants. Here we report which bucket the plant was in. 1-7. * texture - Has one of four fields: Sand + Pond Mud, Sand + Pond Mud + biochar, Wickford, Wickford + biochar. * Plant - Has only one field: S. pacifica, the only plant grown in this experiment. * Number - Replicate number (1-6). Each species / sediment type combination had up to 6 replicates. * AGBiomass - The aboveground biomass for each plant pot, converted to grams per square meter. * BGBiomass - The aboveground biomass for each plant pot, converted to grams per square meter. * TotalBiomass - The sum of above and belowground biomass for each plant po, in grams per square meter. * pH1 - First porewater pH measurement. * ph1Date - First porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH1 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * pH2 - Second porewater pH measurement. * pH2Date - Second porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH2 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * pH3 - Third porewater pH measurement. * pH3Date - Third porewater pH measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the pH3 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * AvgpH - Average porewater pH. The average of pH1, pH2, and pH3. * Sal1 - First porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * SalDate - First porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal1 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * Sal2- Second porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * Sal2Date - Second porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal2 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * Sal3- Third porewater salinity measurement, in parts per thousand. * Sal3Date - Third porewater salinity measurement date, in MM/DD/YY. If value is impute, the Sal3 measure was a replacement with the mean for the sediment / species treatment. * AvgSal - Average porewater salinity in parts per thousand. The average of Sal1, Sal2, and Sal3. * ORP - oxidation-reduction potential of soil, measured in milivolts (mV). * Nutrients - KCl extractable ammonium, in mg of NH4-N per g of dry sediment. * NutrientDate - The date the KCl extractions were conducted. * Alkalinity - meausured on porewater at the end of the experiment (December 2018), as mg per L of calcium carbonate (mg/L CaCO3). ## Sharing/Access information None. ## Code/Software GH2018Stats.R - ANOVA or non-parametric equivalent for "experiment one" (sediment texture vs. response variables). Tests are run for each species, then assumptions are checked, and follow up tests conducted. Run on R version 4.3.1 (2023-06-16) using R Studio 2022.02.1. All packages used are described in the R code. GH2018Part2Stats.R - ANOVA or non-parametric equivalent for "experiment two" (sediment amendments of biochar and compost). Tests are run for each species, then assumptions are checked, and follow up tests conducted. Run on R version 4.3.1 (2023-06-16) using R Studio 2022.02.1. All packages used are described in the R code. GH2018Part3Stats.R - T tests for "experiment three" (sediment prone to acidification with and without amendments). Run on R version 4.3.1 (2023-06-16) using R Studio 2022.02.1. All packages used are described in the R code.