This data set contains decomposition rates for litter of Salicornia pacifica, Distichlis spicata, and Deschampsia cespitosa buried at 7 tidal marsh sites in 2015. Sediment organic matter values were collected at a subset of sites. These data support the following in-press publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., Thorne, K.M., Dugger, B.D., and Takekawa, J.Y., 2017. Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific coast tidal marshes. Ecosystems.

This data table contains mean decomposition rates and mean carbon:nitrogen ratios for different litter types buried in 7 marshes during 2015. Note that C:N data are repeated for low and high marsh areas at each site in the table. These data support the following in-press publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., Thorne, K.M., Dugger, B.D., and Takekawa, J.Y., 2017. Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific coast tidal marshes. Ecosystems.

Decomposition of plant matter is one of the key processes affecting carbon cycling and storage in tidal wetlands. In this study, we evaluated the effects of factors related to climate change (temperature, inundation) and vegetation composition on rates of litter decay in seven tidal marsh sites along the Pacific coast. In 2014 we conducted manipulative experiments to test inundation effects on litter decay at Siletz Bay, OR and Petaluma marsh, CA. In 2015 we studied decay of litter in high and low elevation marshes at seven Pacific coast sites. These data support the following publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R. et al. Ecosystems (2017). doi:10.1007/s10021-017-0111-6. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-017-0111-6

This data table contains plant composition and marsh surface elevation data for 64 plots where Salicornia pacifica litter was buried at 7 sites in 2015. These data support the following in-press publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., Thorne, K.M., Dugger, B.D., and Takekawa, J.Y., 2017. Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific coast tidal marshes. Ecosystems.

This data table contains summary data for temperature time series in near-surface sediments in high and low tidal marsh at 7 sites during 2015. These data support the following in-press publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., Thorne, K.M., Dugger, B.D., and Takekawa, J.Y., 2017. Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific coast tidal marshes. Ecosystems.

This data table contains results for the 2014 mesocosm tests of inundation effects on decomposition. These data support the following publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R. et al. Ecosystems (2017). doi:10.1007/s10021-017-0111-6. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-017-0111-6

Measurement data of aboveground litterfall and littermass and litter carbon, nitrogen, and nutrient concentrations were extracted from 685 original literature sources and compiled into a comprehensive database to support the analysis of global patterns of carbon and nutrients in litterfall and litter pools. Data are included from sources dating from 1827 to 1997. The reported data include the literature reference, general site information (description, latitude, longitude, and elevation), site climate data (mean annual temperature and precipitation), site vegetation characteristics (management, stand age, ecosystem and vegetation-type codes), annual quantities of litterfall (by class, kg m-2 yr-1), litter pool mass (by class and litter layer, kg m-2), and concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and base cations for the litterfall (g m-2 yr-1) and litter pool components (g m-2). The investigators intent was to compile a comprehensive data set of individual direct field measurements as reported by researchers. While the primary emphasis was on acquiring C data, measurements of N, P, and base cations were also obtained, although the database is sparse for elements other than C and N. Each of the 1,497 records in the database represents a measurement site. Replicate measurements were averaged according to conventions described in Section 5 and recorded for each site in the database. The sites were at 575 different locations.

Coastal wetlands store more carbon than most ecosystems globally. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control the loss of organic matter in coastal wetlands at the landscape scale, and how sea-level rise will impact this important ecological function.