A path towards appropriate degradation experiments for assessing carbon sequestration potential of macroalgae

The biodiversity and climate crises have increased the urgency to understand turnover rates and drivers of marine carbon sequestration. Efforts have concentrated on measuring degradation of macroalgae, to quantify how much of their carbon might be sequestered. We systematically reviewed literature on macroalgal degradation, compiling 364 measurements of exponential decay constant k. To date, most degradation experiments (1) are carried out in aquaria or shallow environments, (2) span short timescales, (3) use dried or frozen material, or (4) rarely incorporate environmental gradients driving degradation. Decay constants were higher in intertidal vs. subtidal habitats, for pre-treated algal tissue compared to fresh, and when refractory material was present rather than absent. These patterns have implications for estimates of export efficiency of macroalgal carbon to the deep ocean. Synthesis: We recommend that future studies of macroalgal degradation (1) adopt standardized appr..., , # Data from: A path towards appropriate degradation experiments for assessing carbon sequestration potential of macroalgae

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcsb](10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcsb)

## Description of the data and file structure

49 variables were extracted from 71 peer reviewed studies, either directly from text and tables or from figures using metadigitise in R. This dataset is used to perform analyses and generate all output such as summaries and visualizations in the accompanying R scripts and manuscript. 

The files representing the entry point for the data extraction process (figures and excel files from published papers) are not included here, due to potential copywright infringement. 

The scripts used to extract data, however, are included for reference in R scripts 1-3, with a detailed description of the extraction process. 

### Files and variables

#### File: degredation_database_white_2025.xls

**Description:** This file has 5 sheets: 

*database* - All the records fo...,