The National Estuarine Research Reserve System has developed a consistent protocol for monitoring vegetation across the nations estuaries. Eventually, the goal is to be monitoring vegetation regularly at every Reserve, allowing for robust spatial and temporal analyses of estuarine vegetation trends. To date, 18 Reserves have implemented this vegetation monitoring protocol. The vegetation community that is assessed varies by reserve. The protocol has been implemented for submerged aquatic vegetation such as eelgrass and algae, as well as for emergent vegetation such as salt marshes and mangroves. The vegetation monitoring protocol involves permanent sampling plots along fixed transects. Parameters monitored include percent cover of all plant species, as well as stem density and canopy height of the common species. Elevation is also assessed for each plot when feasible. The complete monitoring protocol provides more details. These data will be valuable for tracking changes in abundance of particular species of interest, or in species composition over time. For instance, the transects can be used to detect landward migration of vegetation communities in the face of projected sea level rise. The National Estuarine Research Reserves is a network of 30 reserves protected for long-term research, ecosystem monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the reserve system is a partnership program between NOAA and the coastal states. NOAA provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance. Each reserve is managed on daily basis by a lead state agency or university with input from local partners. These data are collected as part of the NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP), which includes (1) abiotic indicators of water quality and weather; (2) biological monitoring; and (3) watershed, habitat, and land use mapping. Data were collected under individual Reserve NOAA grant/cooperative agreements and managed by the CDMO under NOAA grant/cooperative agreement #NA23NOS4200321 (2023) and prior grants. For more information on Reserve locations and programs, please visit www.nerrsdata.org or https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/.

Water quality observations made over long time periods can provide important feedback to scientists and to local, state, and national resource managers about actions taken to manage, protect, and restore estuaries. They also provide valuable information for evaluating the impacts of environmental change on coastal habitats and species. There are at least four water quality stations at each National Estuarine Research Reserve. Each station is designed to characterize long-term variability and short term changes in environmental conditions. Discrete samples for nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations are collected at each long-term monitoring station at least once monthly. More intensive (24-hours over a complete tidal cycle) sampling is conducted each month at one water quality monitoring station to better understand impacts of tide and irradiance on nutrient cycling. Nutrient parameters collected include: nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, orthophosphate, and chlorophyll a. Numerous optional parameters include dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and total dissolved phosphorous. The National Estuarine Research Reserves is a network of 30 reserves protected for long-term research, ecosystem monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the reserve system is a partnership program between NOAA and the coastal states. NOAA provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance. Each reserve is managed on daily basis by a lead state agency or university with input from local partners. These data are collected as part of the NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP), which includes (1) abiotic indicators of water quality and weather; (2) biological monitoring; and (3) watershed, habitat, and land use mapping. Data were collected under individual Reserve NOAA grant/cooperative agreements and managed by the CDMO under NOAA grant/cooperative agreement #NA23NOS4200321 (2023) and prior grants. For more information on Reserve locations and programs, please visit www.nerrsdata.org or https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/.

Meteorological dataset: Meteorological data provide information on atmospheric conditions that can affect water quality and biological and physical processes. Core elements currently measured at each National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) include air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Optional parameters include total solar radiation. Each site maintains at least one meteorological station. Stations are placed at locations typical of local conditions or in areas where a specific need for weather data has been identified. Data are reported at 15 minute intervals. Prior to 2007, hourly and daily average data were also reported. Water Quality dataset: Water quality observations made over long time periods can provide important feedback to scientists and to local, state, and national resource managers about actions taken to manage, protect, and restore estuaries. They also provide valuable information for evaluating the impacts of environmental change on coastal habitats and species. There are at least four water quality stations at each National Estuarine Research Reserve. Each station is designed to characterize long-term variability and short term changes in environmental conditions. Data are collected with data loggers at fifteen minute intervals and instruments are deployed continuously and year round where possible. Water quality parameters collected include: water temperature, specific conductivity, salinity, percent saturation of dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, depth, and turbidity. Chlorophyll fluorescence is an optional parameter and pressure corrected water depth is a calculated value. Nutrient/pigment dataset: There are at least four water quality stations at each National Estuarine Research Reserve. Each station is designed to characterize long-term variability and short term changes in environmental conditions. Discrete samples for nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations are collected at each long-term monitoring station at least once monthly. More intensive (24-hours over a complete tidal cycle) sampling is conducted each month at one water quality monitoring station to better understand impacts of tide and irradiance on nutrient cycling. Nutrient parameters collected include: nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, orthophosphate, and chlorophyll a. Numerous optional parameters include dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and total dissolved phosphorus. All data are provided in yearly .CSV files.

These data show aquatic vascular vegetation beds dominated by submerged, rooted, vascular species or submerged or rooted floating freshwater tidal vascular vegetation. This is not a complete collection of seagrasses on the seafloor, nor are the locations to be considered exact. The presence and location of the seagrasses have been derived from multiple state and federal sources.

The project team produces educational outreach materials for audiences throughout Grand Bay. The materials will raise awareness of the positive and negative effects of land-use change for the general public, community organizations, and decisionmakers within the region. The materials will educate audiences about the ways to preserve and protect Grand Bay from waterborne pathogens and excess nutrients. The team will use science-based information to reinforce the importance of reducing stormwater contamination, improving wastewater management, and implementing land-use planning that takes water resources into account. This science transfer project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to promote the use of science. It did not produce any new data.

The Ecological Research, Assessment and Prediction's Tidal Creeks: Sentinel Habitat Database was developed to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations' (NOAA) Hollings Marine Laboratory (HML) Oceans and Human Health Initiative (OHHI). The goal of the program is to provide the scientific information and framework for forecasting environmental and human health risks across estuarine habitats, watersheds, and regions which includes the testing of new technologies developed by other HML OHH groups. This includes a wide range of data from tidal creek systems which are being used as the sentinel habitat for assessing and predicting the impact of coastal development on estuarine systems. Sampling has occurred in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi. Historical data from 1994, 1995, 2000 as well as recent data from 2005, 2006, and 2008 are included in the database. A wide range of parameters have been sampled in the estuarine tidal creek systems and their watersheds to obtain data on water quality (e.g., nutrients, pathogens, dissolved oxygen, salinity), sediment quality (e.g., characteristics, chemical contaminants), biological condition (e.g., macrobenthos, fish, organism health) , human exposure (e.g., pathogens), and watershed attributes (e.g., land cover, impervious cover, demographics). Each creek was sampled from its headwaters to its junction with a large open estuary. The creeks represented the range of land use types and human uses that occur in the Southeastern and Gulf regions, including forested, suburban, and urban watersheds. Results of these studies indicate that the amount and type of watershed development are linked to changes in creek environmental quality including increased fecal coliform levels, decreased sediment quality, changes in the kinds and abundances of biota, changes in the abundance of juvenile fish, and decreases in the abundance of shrimp that use these habitats as nurseries. These findings suggest that the shallow estuarine habitats that form the primary link with the land provide early warning of impairment and may be sentinels of ensuing harm from land-based activities. The levels of microbial and chemical contamination in these headwater environments are frequently an order of magnitude greater than that reported for deeper open water environments. Shallow or headwater tidal creeks are, in effect, the "first responders" to impacts of non-point source pollution runoff.

Maine's eelgrass (SAV) meadows form an important aquatic habitat for the state. These meadows provide shelter for juvenile fish, and invertebrates. In certain locations they also help stabilize unconsolidated sediments and shorelines. Maine's Department of Marine Resources has mapped the SAV habitat for the entire coast using the Coastal Change Analysis Protocol. This mapping was accomplished from aerial photography acquired between 1993 and 1997. The unified coastal SAV data set is a composite of these multiple year data. The benthic data is classified according to the System for Classification of Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME). This system is fully described in "Development of a System for Classification of Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME) for Florida, Report to U.S. EPA - Gulf of Mexico Program, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Marine Research Institute. Review Draft 12/04/02." Original contact information: Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management Phone: 843-740-1202 Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

This data collected for Elkhorn Slough NERR by NGS (National Geodetic Survey). Original contact information: Contact Org: NOAA - NGS, Remote Sensing Division Phone: 301-713-0665 Email: jason.woolard@noaa.gov