Sapelo Research Application Form
Research Application ID: GCE-153-2026 (submitted: 03/24/2026, status: approved)
Provide a brief title for web display
Characterizing Long-Term Changes in Vegetation and Fire Disturbance
Investigator Information
On Island Sponsor: GCE SINERR UGAMI GADNR
| Principal Investigator: | Megan Anne Conger | ||
| Home Institution: | University of Georgia | ||
| Award Information: | GCE-LTER Thompson Budget, NSF, ~$5K | ||
| Mailing Address: | Center for Applied Isotope Studies | Phone Number: | (706) 542-3354 |
| University of Georgia | E-mail Address: | megan.conger25@uga.edu | |
| Athens, Georgia 30602 | |||
| Co-investigators: | Victor D. Thompson (University of Georgia), Brett Parbus (University of Georgia) | ||
Briefly describe the project goals and methodology
The nature and density of human settlement on Sapelo Island has changed in concert with environmental conditions for at least the last 5000 years. Fire disturbance is one proxy for detecting both human settlement and environmental disturbance. We will collect sediment cores from 4-7 sampling locations within the GCE-LTER domain, including interior ponds on Sapelo Island and Mary Hammock. Charcoal quantification and radiocarbon dating of charcoal from cores will characterize long-term changes in vegetation and fire disturbance. When combined with ongoing archaeological settlement research, this will test hypotheses about the relationships between human population density, environmental variability, and fire regimes.
Where will the project be located?
Various sampling locations within GCE-LTER domain, including on Sapelo Island and Mary Hammock
How will you provide GPS coordinates for study sites?
I will provide a GIS file describing my study sites (ArcGIS shapefile, Google Earth KML/KMZ)
What are the expected start and end dates of the project?
Start Date: 05/17/2026 End Date: 05/20/2026
How many people will access the site and at what frequency?
3 people for approximately three days total; each sampling site should only be accessed one or two times
Keywords that describe your project
What equipment will be deployed in the field?
All equipment will be hand operated and transported into and out of the field by the researchers on the day of sample collection. No equipment will be left behind or deployed long term. Equipment will include handheld GPS to collect the location of sampling sites, and hand-operated corers of various sizes to collect soil core samples from ponds.
Will plants or animals be collected as part of this study?
Small samples of various plant species pollen will be collected at the study sites to build a localized reference library for future palynological analysis on these cores
What are the likely impacts of the project on the site?
No long term impacts anticipated- soil cores will be small enough to fill themselves in immediately, and pollen samples removed will be small and only from abundant taxa.
Will the project design include boardwalks? If not, explain why not.
How long will impacts persist after the research is concluded?
No persistent impacts
Study Area Map:
Files attached to this application
GCE-153-2026_GPS_Conger_Thompson_Parbus_Proposed_sampling_locations.kml (KML file, 4.44 kb, submitted 03/24/2026)
