Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Set Details

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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession:

GIS-GCEL-1812

Research Theme:

Geospatial Analysis (Research Study)

Contributors:

Christine M. Hladik, Katie Shaw, Ashley Williamson, Cody Morgan, John Schalles, Merryl Alber

Title:

May to July 2018 ground control points GPS coordinates of tidal marsh and tidal forest plant species to be used as ground control points in habitat mapping

Abstract:

We collected field data from sites distributed in habitats along the salinity axis of the Altamaha River estuary and the Duplin River to be used as ground control points (GCP) and ground reference data for habitat mapping. GCPs for tidal marsh (salt, brackish, tidal fresh) and tidal fresh forest vegetation species were acquired. A real time kinematic (RTK) GPS survey of GPS coordinates and ground elevations for tidal marsh vegetation was carried out in May of June of 2018. A handheld GPS was used to collect GPS coordinates for tidal forest plant species in July of 2018. A total of 101 GCPs were collected in tidal habitats, with 26 in salt, 28 in brackish and 29 in tidal fresh marsh, and another 18 in tidal fresh forest. These observations will be used to create habitat maps from aerial photographs of the Altamaha River estuary, GA taken following Hurricane Irma to better understand how the storm surge affected tidal vegetation and to examine any shifts in vegetation type.

DOI:

10.6073/pasta/b36bc29975795db1813569dd20dc558f

Key Words:

barrier island, disturbance, elevation, geographic information systems, GPS, habitats, land cover, latitude, longitude, plant communities, remote sensing, RTK, salt marshes, surveys, tidal forest, tidal fresh forest, tidal marsh, wetlands

LTER Core Area:

Disturbance Patterns

Research Themes:

Geospatial Analysis, Plant Ecology

Study Period:

23-May-2018 to 07-Jul-2018

Study Sites:

GCE_Domain -- GCE Domain, Sapelo Island, Georgia

» Download Geographic Coverage: Google Earth

Species References:

Acer rubrum, Arundinaria tecta, Baccharis halimifolia, Batis maritima, Borrichia frutescens, Carex lupulina, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Chasmanthium latifolium, Cladium jamaicense, Daucus carota, Distichlis spicata, Fraxinus caroliniana, Iva frutescens, Juncus effusus, Juncus roemerianus, Juniperus virginiana, Kosteletzkya virginica, Liquidambar styraciflua, Ludwigia peploides, Magnolia virginiana, Moehringia lateriflora, Nyssa aquatica, Onoclea sensibilis, Panicum virgatum, Peltandra virginica, Persicaria arifolia, Pluchea carolinensis, Pontederia cordata, Quercus falcata, Quercus laurifolia, Rumex verticillatus, Sagittaria lancifolia, Sagittaria latifolia, Salicornia virginica, Saururus cernuus, Schoenoplectus americanus, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, Serenoa repens, Spartina alterniflora, Spartina cynosuroides, Suaeda linearis, Typha domingensis, Ulmus americana, Zizaniopsis miliacea

Data References:

GIS-GCEL-1812a (Regions of Interest dataset)

Downloads:

Data Table: GIS-GCEL-1812 (Main data table for data set GIS-GCEL-1812, 101 records)

Access: Public (released 03-Dec-2018)

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

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [10.20kb], Text File [8.49kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [24.40kb], MATLAB (Variables) [24.58kb], Text Report [27.52kb]

Column List:(display)

Column	Name	Units	Type	Description
1	ID	None	string	GCP sampling point identification number
2	Plot_ID	None	string	Original plot ID
3	Date	dd-mmm-yyyy	string	Calendar month, day, and year
4	UTM_Zone	None	string	UTM Zone
5	UTM_Easting	m	floating-point	UTM easting coordinates
6	UTM_Northing	m	floating-point	UTM northing coordinates
7	Habitat	None	string	National Wetlands Inventory Habitat Classification
8	Elevation	m	floating-point	surveyed RTK ground elevation for tidal marsh GCPs
9	Dominant	None	string	Dominant plant species present at GCP location
10	Plants	None	string	All tidal marsh plant species present within a 0.25 m x 0.25 m quadrat centered on the GCP OR for tidal fresh forest GCPs, all species within a 20 x 25 m plot centered on the GCP
11	Height_DBH	cm	floating-point	Average height of all tidal marsh plants within a 0.25 m x 0.25 m quadrat centered on the GCP OR for tidal fresh forest GCPs, the average diameter at breast height (DBH) of all trees with DBH of 10 cm within a 20 x 25 m plot centered on the GCP
12	Count	None	integer	Number of tidal marsh plant stems present within a 0.25 m x 0.25 m quadrat centered on the GCP OR for tidal fresh forest GCPs, the number of trees within a 20 x 25 m plot centered on the GCP

GIS Raster Data: GIS-GCEL-1812_shapefile (Shapefile for GIS-GCEL-1812)

Access: Public (released 03-Dec-2018)

Metadata: XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Zip archive [10 kb]

Statistics:

Generate script code to retrieve data tables for analysis in: MATLAB, R, SAS, SPSS

Citation:

Hladik, Christine M. 2018. May to July 2018 ground control points GPS coordinates of tidal marsh and tidal forest plant species to be used as ground control points in habitat mapping. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/b36bc29975795db1813569dd20dc558f

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