Nitrification potential and ammonia-oxidizer abundances in Louisiana salt marshes, May to September 2012

This dataset contains values for nitrification potential, abundances of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), and soil properties collected from 13 marshes in Terrebonne Bay (TB), western Barataria Bay (WB), and eastern Barataria Bay (EB), LA. In TB and EB we sampled two oiled marshes and two unoiled marshes, and in WB we sampled three oiled marshes and two unoiled marshes. At each marsh, we collected 5-cm deep soil cores along a 20-m transect from the marsh edge and collecting soil samples every 5 m. Each sample was analyzed for nitrification potential and a suite of physical (soil water content, bulk density) and chemical properties (pH, organic C, total N, molar C:N ratio, total P). Marshes in TB were sampled monthly from May to September 2012, and the WB and EB marshes were sampled in July and September 2012. Samples collected in July 2012 were analyzed for AOA and AOB. This dataset is used in the publication: Marton JM, Roberts BJ, Bernhard AE, Giblin AE. 2015. Spatial and temporal variability of nitrification potential and ammonia-oxidizer abundances in Louisiana salt marshes. Estuaries and Coasts 38:1824-1837. DOI: 10.1007/s12237-015-9943-5