DOI: 10.5061/dryad.d7wm37qd0
title: Data from: Estimation of metabolic dynamics of restored seagrass meadows in a Southeast Asia Islet: Insights from ex situ benthic incubation

description: Seagrass meadows are vital carbon sinks, but their function is threatened
 by rapid decline, driving restoration efforts to enhance coastal recovery
 and carbon removal. The capacity of these restored seagrasses as carbon
 sources or sinks depends largely on organic carbon metabolism and
 carbonate dynamics. In this study, we employed ex situ core incubation to
 investigate the metabolic rates of replanted seagrasses (SG), including
 gross primary productivity (GPP), community respiration (R), net ecosystem
 metabolism (NEM), and net ecosystem calcification (NEC) in SG and
 surrounding bare sediments (BS). SG exhibited higher GPP (26.0 ± 1.0 mmol
 O2 m-2 h-1 vs 0.7 ± 0.1 mmol O2 m-2 h-1) and NEM (208.2 ± 6.3 mmol O2 m-2
 d-1 vs 20.1 ± 2.8 mmol O2 m-2 d-1) than BS, indicating their potential as
 carbon sinks by shifting benthic metabolism towards a more autotrophic
 state. In contrast, SG showed higher daytime carbonate production and
 nighttime carbonate dissolution, which could offset each other, resulting
 in no significant difference in NEC between SG and BS. In summary, our
 results found that the SG exhibited significantly higher NEM compared to
 BS, while no significant difference was found for NEC. Consequently, the
 net effect on the carbon uptake capacity of the restored seagrass is
 likely increased, primarily due to the higher NEM. Our findings highlight
 the ecological significance of seagrass restoration in mitigating climate
 change through carbon removal. The ex situ core incubation method allows
 for the simultaneous measurement of organic and inorganic carbon
 metabolism. While ex situ core incubation enhances feasibility, in situ
 assessments are still necessary to validate the results and ensure a
 comprehensive understanding of seagrass ecosystem dynamics.
description: # Data from: Estimation of metabolic dynamics of restored seagrass meadows
 in a Southeast Asia Islet: Insights from ex situ benthic incubation ####
 Description of the data and file structure **File name:
 Dateset_Penghu.xlsx** **Sheet 1.** Carbonate chemistry: Contains the
 carbonate chemistry parameters (nTA, nDIC, pCO2, pH, and aragonite
 saturation state) between seagrass (SG) and bare sediment (BS) **Sheet
 2.** Metabolic rates: Contains the DO values, metabolic rates in terms of
 respiration (R), gross primary productivity (GPP), and net ecosystem
 metabolism (NEM) between seagrass (SG) and bare sediment (BS). n=9 **Sheet
 3.** Carbonate dynamics: Contains the normalized Total Alkalinity (nTA)
 and the net ecosystem calcification (NEC) between seagrass (SG) and bare
 sediment (BS). n=3 1. VARIABLE LISTS: A. DATA SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR:
 Carbonate chemistry 1. Number of variables: 7 (Columns A-G) 2. Number of
 rows: 31 3. Variable list: * Treatment : SG = Seagrass; BS = Bare Sediment
 * Date/Time : Month and time of the incubation period 4: April * nDIC(µmol
 kg-1) :normalized Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (micromoles per kilogram,
 µmol/kg) * nTA(µmol kg-1) : normalized Total Alkalinity (micromoles per
 kilogram, µmol/kg) * pH at 25: pH measured spectrophotometrically at 25
 (°C) * pCO2(µatm) : Partial pressure of Carbon Dioxide (units of
 microatmospheres, µatm) * WAr : Aragonite saturation state B. DATA
 SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Metabolic rates 1. Number of variables : 20
 (Columns A-U) Number of rows : 37 Variable list for metabolic rates *
 Treatment : Seagrass and Bare Sediment * Date/Time : Month and time of the
 incubation period 4: April * Core Tank Replicates B3 - Blue : Core tanks
 for seagrass D5 - C3 : Core tanks for bare sediment * Core Information
 Total length of core (cm) Core Diameter (cm) Sediment length (cm) Water
 Column length (cm) Core Surface Area (m2) Core Volume (litres) * DO
 concentration : Dissolved Oxygen concentration in µmol/L * Metabolic rates
 (Day 1 and Day 2) R (mmol/m2/h) : Respiration rates (R) in mmol m-2 h-1.
 GPP (mmol/m2/h) : Gross Primary Productivity in mmol m-2 h-1. NEM
 (mmol/m2/d) : Net ecosystem metabolism (NEM) in mmol m-2 d-1. C. DATA
 SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Carbonate dynamics 1. Number of variables : 20
 (Columns A-I) Number of rows : 43 Variable list for metabolic rates *
 Treatment : Seagrass and Bare Sediment * Date/Time : Month and time of the
 incubation period 4: April * Core Tank Replicates B3-1 - B3-3 : Core tanks
 for seagrass D5-1 - D5-3 : Core tanks for bare sediment * Core Information
 Total length of core (cm) Core Diameter (cm) Sediment length (cm) Water
 Column length (cm) Core Surface Area (m2) Core Volume (litres) * nTA flux
 (Day 1 and Day 2) NT (mmol/m2/h) : nighttime flux (NT) in mmol m-2 h-1. DT
 (mmol/m2/h) : daytime flux (DT) in mmol m-2 h-1. Daily (mmol/m2/d) : daily
 net ecosystem calcification (NEC) in mmol m-2 d-1.