Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Set Details

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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession:

PLT-GCEM-2311b

Research Theme:

Population Ecology (Monitoring)

Contributors:

Steven C. Pennings, Adam Sapp, Wade Sheldon

Title:

Fall 2023 plant monitoring survey -- biomass calculated from shoot height and flowering status of plants in permanent plots at GCE sampling sites 1-10

Abstract:

The biomass of plants surveyed in permanent plots at 10 GCE LTER sampling sites in October 2023 was estimated based on allometric relationships between biomass and shoot height and flowering status derived for each site, zone, and species in October 2002 and October 2008. Biomass was calculated for dominant species, including Spartina alterniflora, S. cynosuroides, Juncus roemerianus, and Zizaniopsis miliacea, as well as rarer species including Scirpus spp, Panicum spp. And Typha angustifolia. This data set is based on GCE plant monitoring survey data set PLT-GCEM-2111a, and allometric relationships were based on GCE data sets PLT-GCEM-0211b, PLT-GCEM-0711, and PLT-GCEM-2011.

DOI:

(not assigned)

Key Words:

biomass, flowering, marshes, monitoring, permanent plots, plant communities, plant cover, plant ecology, plant growth, Plant Monitoring, plants, primary productivity, shoot height

LTER Core Area:

Primary Production

Research Themes:

GCE2 Q2 - Domain Patterns, GCE3 Area2 - Patterns within the Domain, Population Ecology, Botany

Study Period:

11-Oct-2023 to 19-Oct-2023

Study Sites:

GCE1 -- Eulonia, Georgia, USA
GCE2 -- Four Mile Island, Georgia, USA
GCE3 -- North Sapelo, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA
GCE4 -- Meridian, Georgia, USA
GCE5 -- Folly River, Georgia, USA
GCE6 -- Dean Creek, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA
GCE7 -- Carrs Island, Georgia, USA
GCE8 -- Alligator Creek, Georgia, USA
GCE9 -- Rockdedundy Island, Georgia, USA
GCE10 -- Hunt Camp, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA

» Download Geographic Coverage: Google Earth

Species References:

Cladium jamaicense, Juncus effusus, Juncus roemerianus, Panicum spp, Scirpus americanus, Scirpus olneyi, Scirpus robustus, Scirpus validus, Spartina alterniflora, Spartina cynosuroides, Typha angustifolia, Zizaniopsis miliacea

Data References:

PLT-GCEM-0211b (Allometry data set containing biomass/height relationship parameters per species), PLT-GCEM-0711 (Allometry data set containing biomass/height relationship parameters per species), PLT-GCEM-2011 (Allometry data set containing biomass/height relationship parameters per species), PLT-GCEM-2311a (Shoot height and flowering data set used for biomass calculation)

Project References:

End of year biomass

Downloads:

Data Table: PLT-GCEM-2311b (Main data table for data set PLT-GCEM-2311b, 3321 records)

Access: GCE Members only (public release on 21-Feb-2025)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [399.73kb], Text File [357.48kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [116.41kb], MATLAB (Variables) [121.47kb], Text Report [488.17kb]

Column List:(hide)

Column	Name	Units	Type	Description
1	Year	YYYY	integer	Year of observation
2	Month	M	integer	Month of observation
3	Day	D	integer	Day of observation
4	Site	none	integer	GCE LTER sampling site number
5	Site_Name	none	string	GCE LTER sampling site name
6	Zone	none	integer	Nominal marsh zone
7	Plot	none	integer	Permanent plot number
8	Location	none	string	Geographic location code in the GCE Metadata Database for the sampling plot
9	Flag_Location	none	string	QA/QC flags for Geographic location code in the GCE Metadata Database for the sampling plot (flagging criteria, where "x" is Location: manual)
10	Location_Notes	none	string	Notes on location assignments and geographic accuracy
11	Longitude	degrees	floating-point	Geographic longitude in decimal degrees
12	Flag_Longitude	none	string	QA/QC flags for Geographic longitude in decimal degrees (flagging criteria, where "x" is Longitude: x<-180="I", x>180="I", manual)
13	Latitude	degrees	floating-point	Geographic latitude in decimal degrees
14	Flag_Latitude	none	string	QA/QC flags for Geographic latitude in decimal degrees (flagging criteria, where "x" is Latitude: x<-90="I", x>90="I", manual)
15	Quadrat_Area	m^2	floating-point	Areal measurement of the quadrat frame
16	Species_Code	none	string	Plant species code
17	Shoot_Height	cm	floating-point	Height of the plant shoot above the substrate
18	Flowering_Status	none	integer	Presence or absence of inflorescence
19	Plant_Biomass	g	floating-point	Plant biomass calculated from shoot height and flowering status, based on curve fits of allometric data collected for each site, marsh zone and species

Citation:

Pennings, Steven C. 2024. Fall 2023 plant monitoring survey -- biomass calculated from shoot height and flowering status of plants in permanent plots at GCE sampling sites 1-10. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/data/PLT-GCEM-2311b

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