Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Set Details

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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession:

PLT-GCEM-0211b

Research Theme:

Plant Ecology (Monitoring)

Contributors:

Steven C. Pennings, Cristiano Salgado, Caroline McFarlin, Ken Helm

Title:

Plant allometry at GCE sampling sites 1-10 in October, 2002

Abstract:

The relationship between height and mass (allometry) was measured for plants collected from Georgia Coastal Ecosystems sampling sites 1-10 in October 2002. Shoots or leaves (Juncus) were collected adjacent to permanent plots in each marsh zone by clipping at the soil surface. Dead leaves were removed from shoots. Height, flowering status (Spartina species only), number of leaves (Spartina species and Zizaniopsis), and dry mass were measured for each plant. The allometric relationships determined in this study will allow annual GCE plant monitoring data to be converted from height to mass. This study may be repeated in the future to examine temporal trends in relation to environmental changes.

DOI:

10.6073/pasta/e5e854be6597aa4335a2058ffece7fe8

Key Words:

allometry, height, Juncus, leaves, marshes, mass, permanent plots, plant biomass, plant communities, plant cover, plants, primary productivity, shoot height, Spartina, Zizaniopsis

LTER Core Area:

Primary Production

Research Themes:

Plant Ecology

Study Period:

14-Oct-2002 to 20-Oct-2002

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:

Juncus roemerianus, Spartina alterniflora, Spartina cynosuroides, Zizaniopsis miliacea

Data References:

PLT-GCEM-0711 (Allometry data set containing biomass/height relationship parameters per species)

Publications:

Wieski, K. and Pennings, S.C. 2014. Climate Drivers of Spartina alterniflora Saltmarsh Production in Georgia, USA. Ecosystems. 17(3):473-484. (DOI: 10.1007/s10021-013-9732-6)

Li, S. and Pennings, S.C. 2016. Disturbance in Georgia salt marshes: variation across space and time. Ecosphere. 7(10):e01487. (DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.1487)

Liu, W. and Pennings, S.C. 2019. Self-thinning and size-dependent flowering of the grass Spartina alterniflora across space and time. Functional Ecology. 33:1830-1841. (DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13384)

Downloads:

Data Table: PLT-GCEM-0211b (Main data table for data set PLT-GCEM-0211b, 967 records)

Access: Public (released 11-Nov-2003)

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

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [31.42kb], Text File [29.88kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [236.40kb], MATLAB (Variables) [204.82kb], Text Report [61.61kb]

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
5	Zone	none	integer	Nominal marsh zone
6	Species_Code	none	string	Plant species code
7	Shoot_Height	cm	floating-point	Height of the plant shoot above the substrate
8	Flowering_Status	none	integer	Presence or absence of inflorescence
9	Leaf_Count	count	integer	Number of green leaves present on the plant at the time of collection
10	Plant_Mass	g	floating-point	Dry mass of the living plant material

Statistics:

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

Citation:

Pennings, Steven C. 2002. Plant allometry at GCE sampling sites 1-10 in October, 2002. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/e5e854be6597aa4335a2058ffece7fe8

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