Flagship plant communities in restored wetlands exhibited rapid vegetation recovery and substantial gain in surface-water extents

Dataset Description:
This dataset comprises the remote sensing and field survey data used to assess the effectiveness of wetland restoration on retired cranberry farms. It includes:

- Remote Sensing Data:
- Sentinel-2–derived enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and normalized difference water index (NDWI) measurements.
- Spatial and temporal metadata detailing image acquisition dates, sensor specifications, and processing parameters.

- Field Survey Data:
- Ground‐surveyed point locations used for in-situ validation of image‐based plant community identification.
- Pre-restoration (May 2019) and post-restoration data corresponding to the same set of ground‐surveyed points.

- Study Scope:
- Data cover various wetland plant communities, including reference wetlands, and sites restored in 2016 and 2020.
- The dataset enables quantification of temporal dynamics in vegetation recovery and surface-water cover, and supports comparisons of spectral distinctions among restored and reference wetland communities.

This dataset provides a robust basis for analyzing wetland restoration outcomes, facilitating evidence-based assessments of vegetation recovery and hydrological changes in degraded ecosystems.