Soil depth core collected from the Needle’s Eye site in Dumfries, Scotland. Clear plastic depth core was lowered into a bog within the site, excised, and capped at the top and bottom. Core was sliced at 1 cm intervals at the University of Manchester in an anaerobic bag. A total of 42 samples were generated. Soil samples were returned to Newcastle University.

Two sediment depth cores were collected from the River Esk estuary during low tide near the town of Ravenglass, UK. Cores were collected by the University of Manchester. Cores were sliced at 1 cm intervals from 0 - 10 cm, and at 2 cm intervals thereafter. Slicing was performed in an anaerobic bag. Samples were transferred to Newcastle University for DNA extraction. A total of 19 samples were extracted for core 1, and 18 samples extracted for core 2.