GCE-LTER Project News
June 2026 CalendarFlux Vegetation Monitoring Annual Juncus PhenoCam Flight Wilson Lab Well Installations New or Updated Publications06/13/2026 –
Schalles, J.F., Hladik, C.M., O'Donnell, J., Pudil, T., Currin, H., Meile, C. and Okrah, P.A. 2025. Presentation: Landsat imagery, vegetation mapping, and Georgia estuary delineations to assess decadal-scale vegetation biomass patterns. Awash in information: leveraging big data to answer big questions. Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation 2025, November 11, 2025, Richmond, VA. 06/10/2026 –
Kopecky, K.L. and Pennings, S.C. 2026. Legacies of foundation species shape life after death. Science Advances. 12:eaef9983. (DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aef9983) 06/08/2026 –
Okrah, P.A. and Meile, C. 2026. Presentation: Thermal dynamics of salt marsh sediments and the impact of sea-level rise (SLR). 13th Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium, April 17-19, 2026, Atlanta GA. Latest Data Releases11/25/2025 – Data Revision
The data set "Long-term water quality monitoring in the Altamaha River near Doctortown, Georgia" (https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?accession=NUT-GCEM-1909) was revised to correct data reported in incorrect units. Nitrate concentrations were mistakenly reported in parts per million (ppm) instead of parts per billion (ppb) for samples taken between November 2019 and December 2022. These data have been converted to the correct units and have been republished. 08/26/2024 – Data Release
Data sets PLT-GCEM-2012 "Long-term monitoring of seven high marsh plant mixtures on Sapelo Island GA" and PLT-GCEM-1309 "Annual monitoring of high marsh plots dominated by Juncus and Borrichia" have been updated to include recent data. 07/29/2024 – Data Release
Data set titled 'Percent cover measurements of four site-dominant species from the GCE-LTER Seawater Addition Long-Term Experiment (SALTEx) Project' was added to the GCE data catalog. You can view the data here: PLT-GCED-2404. Abstract: SALTEx (Seawater Addition Long-Term Experiment) is a field experiment designed to simulate saltwater intrusion in a tidal freshwater wetland to predict how chronic (Press) and acute (Pulse) salinization will affect this and other tidal freshwater ecosystems. The SALTEx experiment was initiated in 2012 and consists of 31 field plots, each 2.5 m on a side. There are three treatments (Press, Pulse, and Fresh) and two types of controls (with and without sides), each consisting of six replicates. The Press treatment plots receive regular (4 times each week) additions of a mixture of seawater and fresh river water. Pulse plots receive the same mixture of seawater and river water during September and October, which is historically a time of low flow in the river when natural saltwater intrusion occurs. The Fresh treatment plots receive regular additions of fresh river water. Treatment water is added during low tide to facilitate its infiltration into the soil, and all plots are inundated by astronomical tides at high tide. Percent cover was measured for four site-dominant species (Zizaniopsis miliacea, Pontederia cordata, Persicaria hydropiperoides, and Ludwigia repens) each July from 2013 to 2022. Citation: Craft, Christopher B. 2024. Percent cover measurements of four site-dominant species from the GCE-LTER Seawater Addition Long-Term Experiment (SALTEx) Project. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/554fbb232ea0ae95144f0857a604e73c Latest File Uploads06/05/2026 – Photograph 06/05/2026 – Photograph 06/04/2026 – Spreadsheet (GCE only) 05/19/2026 – Other 03/25/2026 – Photograph |
GCE Project Announcements06/18/2026 – Field Program News
It's important that we remove our gear from the marsh when our experiments and monitoring programs are over. We want to be good citizens and not wear out our welcome with SINERR and DNR. We hope that you will be the one to remove whatever you deployed when done, but sometimes that isn't possible. Let Steve know, and maybe the GCE technicians and interns can help. This week the field crew (Emily and Hannah) pulled out an old experiment for one of our colleagues.  One abandoned experiment cleaned up 06/11/2026 – Research News
We published results from PREDEX after three or four years, but have continued to sample the experiment, just to see if anything changes. We see a lot of year to year variability in invertebrate densities, but so far have not seen any big changes that developed in the later years of the experiment. We were thinking, for example, that slow to recruit and long-lived species like Geukensia mussels might start to show changes several years into the experiment. But so far nothing dramatic has happened. (contact Steve Pennings for additional information)06/10/2026 – Publication News
A recent LTER synthesis group published an analysis of how dead foundation species affect their ecosystems. GCE LTER is one of the examples. In some cases, dead foundation species facilitate the living; in other cases they harm them. Results can be positive or negative and of similar magnitude in marine and terrestrial systems. (contact Steve Pennings for additional information)06/08/2026 – Announcement
Happy Summer! Have you ever wanted to show off your designing skills to your friends and colleagues? We have the perfect friendly competition for you! We are looking for a fun new GCE LTER logo that encompasses the unique research we do and cool environments we work in. Please submit your logo by Friday July 17th, 2026. (contact Amanda Spivak for additional information)06/05/2026 – Research News
Two years after the last roto-tilling, some of the tilled plots in the DRAGNet experiment have almost completely recovered (in terms of vegetation). Others are recovering a bit more slowly. The tilled plots are all still lower in elevation than the other treatments (control, fertilize). (contact Steve Pennings for additional information)06/01/2026 – Publication News
Robert Dunn and Steve Pennings recently published a paper in the Journal of Ecology about how Spartina plants were responding to sea level rise. A blog post about that paper is now available at the Journal of Ecology web site: (contact Steve Pennings for additional information)» Add Announcement or Update Announcement (GCE only) » Subscribe to the GCENEWS-L Email List (weekly GCE newsletter) » View/Search Recent GCE Announcements |
