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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary
| Accession: | PLT-GCET-1309 | Research Theme: | Plant Ecology (Graduate Thesis Study) |
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| Contributors: | Hongyu Guo, Steve Pennings, Jane Buck, Christine Ewers, Alana Lynes, Brittany DeLoach McCall, Daniel Saucedo, Jacob Shalack, Huy Vu, Kazik Wieski, Yihui Zhang, Christine Hladik, Len Zhenjiang, Wade Sheldon | ||
| Title: | Mechanisms mediating plant distributions across estuarine landscapes in a low-latitude tidal estuary | ||
| Abstract: | Understanding of how plant communities are organized and will respond to global changes requires an understanding of how plant species respond to multiple environmental gradients. We examined the mechanisms mediating the distribution patterns of tidal marsh plants along an estuarine gradient in Georgia using a combination of field transplant experiments and monitoring. Our results could not be fully explained by the "competition-to-stress hypothesis" (the current paradigm explaining plant distributions across estuarine landscapes). This hypothesis states that the upstream limits of plant distributions are determined by competition, and the downstream limits by abiotic stress. We found that competition was generally strong in freshwater and brackish marshes, and that conditions in brackish and salt marshes were stressful to freshwater marsh plants, results consistent with the competition-to-stress hypothesis. Four other aspects of our results, however, were not explained by the competition-to-stress hypothesis. First, several halophytes found the freshwater habitat stressful, and performed best (in the absence of competition) in brackish or salt marshes. Second, the upstream distribution of one species was determined by the combination of both abiotic and biotic (competition) factors. Third, marsh productivity (estimated by standing biomass) was a better predictor of relative biotic interaction intensity (RII) than was salinity or flooding, suggesting that productivity is a better indicator of plant stress than salinity or flooding gradients. Fourth, facilitation played a role in mediating the distribution patterns of some plants. Our results illustrate that even apparently simple abiotic gradients can encompass surprisingly complex processes mediating plant distributions. | ||
| DOI: | 10.6073/pasta/bbdbeff9e757d2abde19b535c57d9af0 | ||
| Key Words: | Altamaha River, biotic interaction, competition, estuaries, flooding, physical gradient, salinity, tidal marsh, transplant experiments, zonation | ||
| LTER Core Area: | Population Studies | ||
| Research Themes: | Plant Ecology, Population Ecology | ||
| Study Period: | 01-Aug-2006 to 15-Oct-2009 | ||
| 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 GCE9 -- Rockdedundy Island, Georgia, USA GCE10 -- Hunt Camp, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA » Download Geographic Coverage:
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Data Table: PLT-GCET-1309_Biomass (Survival time and final aboveground biomass of the transplants, 768 records) Access: Public (released 01-Sep-2013) Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language) Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [63.59kb], Text File [55.60kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [606.11kb], MATLAB (Variables) [546.54kb], Text Report [125.51kb] Column List:(display) Data Table: PLT-GCET-1309_Elevation (GPS, elevation and flooding data of the study sites, 48 records) Access: Public (released 01-Sep-2013) Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language) Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [4.42kb], Text File [3.63kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [309.30kb], MATLAB (Variables) [250.10kb], Text Report [71.21kb] Column List:(display) Data Table: PLT-GCET-1309_Marsh_Productivity ( Marsh productivity data, 72 records) Access: Public (released 01-Sep-2013) Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language) Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [2.60kb], Text File [1.93kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [296.98kb], MATLAB (Variables) [235.88kb], Text Report [67.64kb] Column List:(display) Data Table: PLT-GCET-1309_Porewater_Salinity (Soil porewater salinity data, 960 records) Access: Public (released 01-Sep-2013) Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language) Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [41.08kb], Text File [35.09kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [447.58kb], MATLAB (Variables) [387.20kb], Text Report [104.68kb] Column List:(display) |
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| Statistics: | Generate script code to retrieve data tables for analysis in: MATLAB, R, SAS, SPSS | ||
| Citation: | Guo, Hongyu. 2013. Mechanisms mediating plant distributions across estuarine landscapes in a low-latitude tidal estuary. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/bbdbeff9e757d2abde19b535c57d9af0 | ||
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