Data from: Meta-analysis reveals the effectiveness and best practices for the iconic Mediterranean seagrass restoration
Data files
May 12, 2025 version files 239.23 KB
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Data_repository.xlsx
234.62 KB
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README.md
4.61 KB
Abstract
Seagrass forest restoration programs have become a global priority to reverse their decline and regain the ecosystem services they provide. However, defining the restoration outcomes has remained controversial, probably due to the wide portfolio of practices experienced mainly on short-term periods and local scales. Scientific literature from 40 years of experience on experimental efforts and active restoration interventions of the Mediterranean foundation seagrass Posidonia oceanica has been systematically summarized through a meta-analysis. Variables concerning the characteristics of the site selection, procedural context, and plant performance evidenced the best practices for the seagrass restoration. Here, the dataset pf the collated evidence is provided.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.fxpnvx13p
Description of the data and file structure
This spreadsheet provides an overview of the datasets associated with the study. Each row corresponds to a specific dataset and includes the file name, a brief description of its contents, the species involved, and the type of experiment or analysis conducted. This file serves as a reference guide to help users navigate the associated data files, ensuring clarity and ease of reuse.
In this matrix, variables are in columns and case studies in rows. All missing data represented as NA.
Files and variables
In this matrix, variables are in columns and case studies in rows. Cells containing N/A values represents not applicable data
For each case study, the following information were extracted:
- ID paper: identification of the document
- ID.CS: case study of the document
- document type: type of the document: ar= article; di=dissertation, cp= conference paper
- Year of publication: YYYY
- Authors: Authors of the document
- Title: Title of the document
- Journal: Journal of the document
Physical characteristics of the sites
- Previous P. oceanica occurrence: P. oceanica occurrence before the decline (categorical)
- Receiving Latitude
- Receiving longitude
- Depth: Depth of the receiving site (continuous, m)
- Substrate (CMECS): Type of substrate in which the intervention has occurred, following Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) (categorical)
- Substrate: Type of substrate in which the intervention has occurred (categorical)
- Cause of decline: Cause of meadow decline in the receiving site (categorical)
- Cause of decline removal: Removal of the cause of meadow decline in the receiving site (categorical)
- Donor site: Site of collection
- Depth: Depth of the donor site (continuous, m)
- Donor Latitude
- Donor longitude
- Cause of decline: Cause of meadow decline of the donor site (categorical)
- Donor - receiving spatial distance: (continuous, km)
- Distance from donor to receiving site (continuous, km)
- Donor - receiving depth range: (continuous, m)
- Depth difference between the donor site and the intervention receiving site: + if receiving site is shallower; - if the receiving site is deeper (continuous, m)
Procedural context of the transplanting intervention
- Aim: Purpose of the intervention (categorical)
- Classification: Classification of the intervention following Elliott et al. (2007, categorical)
- Total restoration area: Total restoration area (continuous, m2)
- n° of shoots/plant portion: continuous, n
- Shoot density: continuous, n/m2
- Plant portion type: Portion of the plant used for the transplanting intervention (categorical)
- Treatment before the intervention: Manipulation applied to the plant portions before the transplanting intervention (categorical)
- Treatment during the intervention: Manipulation of the plant portions during the transplanting intervention (categorical)
- Plant portion collection: Type of collection of the plant portion used in the intervention (categorical)
- Anchoring technique: Technique applied to anchor the transplanted plant portion to the substrate (categorical)
- Season of intervention: Season of intervention (categorical)
- Year of intervention: continuous
- Monitoring time: Time elapsed from the start of the transplanting intervention for each survey, (months)
Plant performance
- Ctrl type: Type of control used to evaluate the transplanted plants performance (categorical)
- Plant trait: Explanatory variables measured for each survey, for above and below ground tissues. Biochemistry includes elemental and pigment analyses; Development includes growth data; Morphology includes size and biomass metrics, density and cover (categorical)
- Response variable: notes of the explanatory variables measured for each survey (categorical)
- Mean of the Control group (initial time of transplanting or reference meadow): n
- SD: standard deviation of the Control group (initial time of transplanting or reference meadow): n
- N: sample size of the Control group (initial time of transplanting or reference meadow): n
- Mean of the treatment group (transplanted plant): n
- SD: standard deviation of the treatment group (transplanted plant): n
- N: sample size of the treatment group (transplanted plant): n
Code/software
For the dataset, an excel matrix was produced.
The file contains all the information extracted from the literature searching process conducted to consider peer-reviewed literature, conference proceedings and patents published with no temporal scale or language restriction and a final search date on the 24th of January 2024. Selection criteria included all studies that reported on a receiving site in which human-mediated actions were performed to re-habilitate, re-create or enhance recovery of a degraded or changed P. oceanica habitat type, where response variables were quantitatively expressed as a measure of transplanting intervention outcome. Only those studies in which the transplanted P. oceanica plants could be compared with a control group, (i.e., an untreated reference meadow and initial restoration time) were selected. Secondary documents such as reviews, studies on restoration technique insight, mesocosm experiments, or documents with insufficient data were excluded. Moreover, studies that did not report the mean values of measured response variables, the number of replicates per treatment, or the measures of variability around the mean, were necessarily excluded from the analysis. The suitable records were included for the data extraction and analysis, and when a document contained more than one type of information, each one was divided into different case studies.