Submersed aquatic vegetation community composition in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta integrated across four surveys

Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) has become widespread in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta), and the diverse SAV assemblage is dominated by non-native species. SAV negatively impacts this estuarine ecosystem by impeding flows needed for water delivery and flood control, degrading habitat needed by native species, increasing breeding habitat for disease-vectoring mosquitoes, harboring non-native predatory fish, and hindering water recreation. The goal of this published integrated dataset is to facilitate study of these impacts. This data set includes four surveys conducted in the region during 2008-2021. Two of these are short-term special studies that have been completed, and two are ongoing long-term annual surveys. The nearshore survey of SAV and largemouth bass was conducted by the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis) at sites across the Delta during 2008-2010. The Aquatic Weed Control Action was completed by the Department of Water Resources as part of the Delta Smelt Resiliency Strategy and included monthly surveys of four sites during 2017-2018. The ongoing survey of Franks Tract is conducted annually by the SePRO corporation and the Division of Boating and Waterways, and available data are from 2014-2021. The ongoing annual survey conducted by the UC-Davis Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing covers many areas of the Delta and spans 2007-2008 and 2014-2021. Additional data from these ongoing surveys and data from other surveys will be added in subsequent versions of this data set.