Dataset: Unearthing blue carbon core microbiomes: patterns and drivers shaping sediment communities between seagrass, salt marsh and mangrove ecosystems

This dataset was generated as part of a study characterizing (16S RNA metabarcoding) the prokaryote community associated with blue carbon ecosystem sediments, detailed in the manuscript “Unearthing Blue Carbon Core Microbiomes: Sediment Microbial Communities in Coastal Vegetated Ecosystems.” Sampling was conducted in March 2023 at Nahoon Estuary, a permanently open estuary in the Eastern Cape province, located in the warm-temperate biogeographic region of South Africa. Three sites (up to ~3 km from the river mouth) targeted the three prototypical blue carbon ecosystems: seagrass meadows (Zostera capensis) in the lower intertidal zone, salt marsh (mixed species of Bassia diffusa, Salicornia tegetaria and Sporobolus virginicus), and mangrove (Avicennia marina) in the intertidal to supratidal zone. At each site, sediment samples (n = 5) were collected randomly at a distance of 5-20 meters apart from the top surface (0-5 cm) of the sediment profile using a stainless-steel Russian peat corer (5 cm diameter × 50 cm length). Samples (n = 15 for mangroves, n = 15 for salt marsh, and n = 15 for seagrass) were acidified with 1N hydrochloric acid and rinsed to remove the inorganic carbon and the organic carbon content quantified using an Elementar Vario EL Cube CHNS analyzer.