Sapelo Research Application Form
Research Application ID: GCE-19-2011 (submitted: 11/03/2011, status: approved)
Provide a brief title for web display
Plant secondary succession following disturbance
Investigator Information
On Island Sponsor: GCE SINERR UGAMI GADNR
| Principal Investigator: | Steven C. Pennings | ||
| Home Institution: | University of Houston | ||
| Award Information: | Monitoring activity of GCE-LTER, overall budget $4,920,000 | ||
| Mailing Address: | Department of Biology and Biochemistry | Phone Number: | (713) 743-2989 |
| University of Houston | E-mail Address: | scpennin@central.uh.edu | |
| Houston, Texas 77204-5513 | |||
| Co-investigators: | |||
Briefly describe the project goals and methodology
We are monitoring marsh plant community succession in plots at 12 sites (3 of these sites are on Sapelo Island) to study the recovery processes of marsh plant communities following disturbance. Plots were initially cleared in 2006 for studies of plant community interactions. Those studies have now ended, and we are monitoring the plots as they re-vegetate without manipulating them further.
Where will the project be located?
Plots are located at the 10 GCE sites (except GCE 8), EPA 7, EPA 8, MS 8.
How will you provide GPS coordinates for study sites?
GPS coordinates are already registered in the GCE-LTER database
What are the expected start and end dates of the project?
Start Date: 03/01/2010 End Date: (ongoing)
How many people will access the site and at what frequency?
Two people will visit each site once a year for 1-2 hours.
Keywords that describe your project
What equipment will be deployed in the field?
The overall plots are 3 x 3 m (four undisturbed and four cleared per site). Within each plot there are two monitoring plots. PVC pipes are used to mark the corners of monitoring plots, which are 1 x 1 m in size. PVC pipes are 0.5 inches in diameter and ~1m long. sixteen plots are established at each site for a total of 58 plots. PVC pipes will be removed by Guo or GCE techs when the project is ended.
Will plants or animals be collected as part of this study?
No
What are the likely impacts of the project on the site?
Plots are marked with PVC pipes. Otherwise, we are simply following the natural vegetation process at the plots, with no additional manipulations. Annual visits cause mild trampling of vegetation.
Will the project design include boardwalks? If not, explain why not.
No. Given that we will only visit these sites once a year, the boardwalk would increase rather than reduce disturbance.
How long will impacts persist after the research is concluded?
The plots under study are experiencing a natural recovery from disturbance. The research will follow the plots until the vegetation has recovered. After the research is concluded (the plots recover to their original status), PVC states marking the plots will be removed, thus there will be no persisting impacts on these marshes.
Research Permits:
Georgia DNR Coastal Resources Division: GCE-19-2011_Permit_040512.1134am_040612.LOPGCE19 (04/06/2012-04/05/2015)
Study Area Map:
Files attached to this application
GCE-19-2011_Maps_Pennings_succession_study_2011.kml (KML file, 28.85 kb, submitted 03/05/2012)
GCE-19-2011_Maps_Pennings_EPA_plots.kml (KML file, 1.4 kb, submitted 03/19/2012)
GCE-19-2011_Permits_NWP_Form_GCE_19.docx (MS Word file, 16.86 kb, submitted 04/10/2012)
