Plant community assemblages Dr. Steven C. Pennings University of Houston

Department of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Houston Texas 77204-5513 USA

scpennin@central.uh.edu https://uh.edu/nsm/biology-biochemistry/people/profiles/steven-pennings/ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4757-7125 Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project

Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens Georgia 30602-3636 USA

gcelter@uga.edu https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/ Dr. Steven C. Pennings University of Houston

Department of Biology and Biochemistry University of Houston Houston Texas 77204-5513 USA

scpennin@central.uh.edu https://uh.edu/nsm/biology-biochemistry/people/profiles/steven-pennings/ https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4757-7125 Principal investigator Alana R. Lynes University of Houston

Department of Biology and Biochemistry 369 Science and Research Bldg 2 University of Houston Houston Texas 77204-5001 USA

alynes76@sbcglobal.net Graduate research assistant Dr. Christine M. Hladik Georgia Southern University

Department of Geology and Geography Georgia Southern University Statesboro Georgia 30460 USA

chladik@georgiasouthern.edu https://www.georgiasouthern.edu/cosm/sees/christine-hladik/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0265-6412 Graduate research assistant 2026

The data set that was collected in order to groundtruth the hyperspectral imagery included information on soil traits (salinity, water content, organic content), plant community traits (species composition and richness, biomass by species, canopy height), the chlorophyll content of Spartina alterniflora, and the abundance of the most common invertebrates (the snails Littoraria and Melampus and the bivalve Geukensia). Oyster abundance was estimated visually. Pennings and collaborators are using this data set to explore patterns of plant community assembly in Georgia marshes. This work is described elsewhere on this website (Q2: plants: intertidal zonation).

Question 2: How do the spatial and temporal patterns of biogeochemical processes, primary production, community dynamics, decomposition, and disturbance vary across the estuarine landscape, and how do they relate to environmental gradients? (more information)

biomass canopy height salinity LTER NSF Georgia GCE Geukensia Littoraria Melampus Spartina alterniflora assemblages invertebrates marsh organic content plant community richness soil traits species composition water content Overall geographic extent of the research project -81.759763 -81.119291 31.771190 30.892711 2006-06-01 2006-06-26

National Science Foundation grant numbers OCE-9982133 and OCE-0620959

estuary marsh complex Central Georgia Coast - Central Georgia coastal region from the South Newport River (northern extent) to the Satilla River (southern extent), and from the outer banks of the barrier islands (eastern extent) to approximately 35km inland (western extent) -81.759763 -81.119291 31.771190 30.892711 Schalles, J.F., Hladik, C.M., Lynes, A.R. and Pennings, S.C. 2013. Landscape estimates of habitat types, plant biomass, and invertebrate densities in a Georgia salt marsh. Special Issue: Coastal Long Term Ecological Research. Oceanography. 26:88-97. (DOI: 10.5670/oceanog.2013.50) https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2013.50 PLT-GCEM-1004a - Fall 2009 plant monitoring survey -- shoot height and flowering status of plants in permanent plots at GCE sampling sites 1-10 https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?id=319 PLT-GCEM-1004b - Fall 2009 plant monitoring survey -- biomass calculated from shoot height and flowering status of plants in permanent plots at GCE sampling sites 1-10 https://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?id=320