Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Set Details

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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession:

PLT-GCEM-1801

Research Theme:

Plant Ecology (Monitoring)

Contributor:

Steven C. Pennings

Title:

Disturbance to permanent monitoring plots at GCE sites 1-10, from 2001 to 2023.

Abstract:

We established permanent vegetation monitoring plots in creekbank and midmarsh at GCE sites 1-10 in 2000. A dedicated Juncus zone was later added at sites 10 and 9. Starting in 2001, when we recorded plant sizes, we also noted any disturbance to the plots. Plots were scored as normal (no visible disturbance), disturbed by wrack (wrack present in plots and stems dead or broken), disturbed by snails (>100 Littoraria per square meter and plant biomass low), disturbed by pigs (animal trail through the plot, this mostly happened at site 8 mid-marsh), initial slump (plot at the creekbank sliding into the creek based on movement of pvc poles or formation of a crevasse), and terminal slump (plot had slid far enough down that vegetation had drowned). Plots that experienced terminal slump or could not be found for any reason were scored as lost. Lost plots were replaced with a new plot in the same general area with the plot code incremented by 10. For example if plot 3 was lost, it was replaced by 13, and then in turn by 23.

DOI:

10.6073/pasta/e4a9b86819c2f247b8eeedfa6fa6970e

Key Words:

disturbance, geomorphology, Juncus, Littoraria, Spartina, wrack, Zizaniopsis

LTER Core Area:

Disturbance Patterns

Research Themes:

Plant Ecology

Study Period:

01-Oct-2001 to 31-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
GCE11 -- Tidal Forest, Georgia, USA

» Download Geographic Coverage: Google Earth

Species References:

Juncus roemerianus, Littoraria irrorata, Spartina alterniflora, Zizaniopsis miliacea

Data References:

PLT-IRMA-2002a (Disturbance data from quarterly sampling in 2018)

Publications:

Smith, R.S., Pennings, S.C., Alber, M., Craft, C.B. and Byers, J. 2024. The resistance of Georgia coastal marshes to hurricanes. Ecosphere. 15(4). (DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4821)

Downloads:

Data Table: PLT-GCEM-1801 (Main data table for data set PLT-GCEM-1801, 4003 records)

Access: Public (released 01-Oct-2017)

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

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [354.18kb], Text File [302.24kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [139.75kb], MATLAB (Variables) [143.15kb], Text Report [436.30kb]

Column List:(hide)

Column	Name	Units	Type	Description
1	Year	YYYY	integer	Year of observation
2	Month	MM	integer	Month of Observation
3	Day	DD	integer	Day of observation
4	Site	none	integer	GCE LTER sampling site
5	Zone	none	integer	Nominal marsh zone
6	Plot	none	integer	Permanent plot number
7	Location	none	string	Geographic location code in the GCE Metadata Database for the sampling plot
8	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)
9	Location_Notes	none	string	Notes on location assignments and geographic accuracy
10	Longitude	degrees	floating-point	Geographic longitude in decimal degrees
11	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)
12	Latitude	degrees	floating-point	Geographic latitude in decimal degrees
13	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)
14	Condition	none	string	Condition of permanent plot
15	Observation	none	string	Observation of any disturbances in the permanent plot
16	Replacement	none	integer	Plot number of the replacement plot
17	Notes	none	string	Notes from the field logs

Statistics:

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

Citation:

Pennings, Steven C. 2017. Disturbance to permanent monitoring plots at GCE sites 1-10, from 2001 to 2023. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/e4a9b86819c2f247b8eeedfa6fa6970e

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