I. Data Set Descriptors A. Title: Christopher B. Craft. 2017. Dendrometer band measurement data from two tidal forest plots at GCE 11 on the Altamaha River in Southeast Georgia from December 2014 to December 2020. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Catalog (data set PLT-GCED-1711; /data/PLT-GCED-1711) B. Accession Number: PLT-GCED-1711 C. Description 1. Originator(s): Name: Christopher B. Craft Address: Indiana University - School of Public and Environmental Affairs Room 408. MSB II. Bloomington, Indiana 47405 Country: USA Email: ccraft@indiana.edu 2. Abstract: We established two 0.1-ha plots in December 2013. In each plot, we identified and measured DBH (diameter at breast height) of every tree using standard diameter tapes. We also placed dendrometric bands on 40 trees (20 per plot) in December 2013. Bands were measured in December 2014 as baseline measurements and yearly thereafter. 3. Study Type: Directed Study 4. Study Themes: Plant Ecology, Botany 5. LTER Core Areas: Primary Production 6. Georeferences: none 7. Submission Date: Nov 13, 2017 D. Keywords: Acer rubrum, Altingiaceae, Angiospermae, Asteranae, Carpinus caroliniana, Cornales, Cupressaceae, Cupressales, dendrochronology, Embryophyta, Fraxinus pennsylanica, GCE, Georgia, Georgia Coastal Ecosystems, Gymnospermae, Liquidambar styraciflua, LTER, Magnolia virginiana, Magnoliopsida, Nyssa aquatica, Nyssa biflora, Nyssa sylvatica, Nyssaceae, Pinopsida, Plantae, Primary Production, productivity, Quercus, Quercus lyrata, Rosanae, Sapelo Island, Sapindaceae, Sapindales, Saxifragales, Saxifraganae, Spermatophytina, Streptophyta, Taxodium distichum, tidal forest, Tracheophyta, USA, Viridaeplantae, Viridiplantae II. Research Origin Descriptors A. Overall Project Description 1. Project Title: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER - IV 2. Principal Investigators: Name: Merryl Alber Address: Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602-3636 Country: USA Email: malber@uga.edu 3. Funding Period: Feb 01, 2019 to Jan 31, 2025 4. Objectives: The GCE-LTER project has four goals. 1) Track environmental and human drivers that can cause perturbations in our focal ecosystems. This will be accomplished this through continuing long-term measurements of climate, water chemistry, oceanic exchange, and human activities on the landscape. 2) Describe temporal and spatial variability in physical, chemical, geological and biological characteristics of the study system (coastal wetland complexes) and how they respond to external drivers. This will be accomplished through field monitoring in combination with remote sensing and modeling. 3) Characterize the ecological responses of intertidal marshes to disturbance. This will be accomplished by ongoing monitoring and experimental work to evaluate system responses to major perturbations in three key marsh habitats (changes in inundation and predator exclusion in Spartina-dominated salt marshes; increases in salinity in fresh marshes; changes in runoff in high marshes), by implementing standardized experimental disturbances along salinity and elevation gradients, and by tracking responses to natural disturbances. 4) Evaluate ecosystem properties at the landscape level (habitat distribution, net and gross primary production, C budgets) and assess the cumulative effects of disturbance on these properties. The project will also develop relationships between drivers and response variables, which can be used to predict the effects of future changes. This will be accomplished through a combination of data synthesis, remote sensing and modeling. 5. Abstract: The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems (GCE) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, based at the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, Georgia, was established in 2000 to study long-term change in coastal ecosystems. Estuaries (places where salt water from the ocean mixes with fresh water from the land) and their adjacent marshes provide food and refuge for fish, shellfish and birds; protect the shoreline from storms; help to keep the water clean; and store carbon. The GCE LTER researchers study marshes and estuaries to understand how these ecosystems function, to track how they change over time, and to predict how they might be affected by future changes in climate and human activities. They accomplish this by tracking the major factors that can cause long-term change in coastal areas (e.g. sea level, rainfall, upstream development), and measuring the effects of these factors on the study site. They also conduct focused studies to assess how key marsh habitats will respond to major changes expected in the future, including large-scale experiments to evaluate the effects of a) increases in the salinity of the water that floods freshwater marshes (mimicking drought and/or sea level rise), b) changes in water runoff from land into the upland marsh border (mimicking drought or upland development), and c) exclusion of larger organisms in the salt marsh (mimicking long-term declines in predators). During this award they will initiate additional studies to systematically evaluate how coastal wetlands respond to disturbances. Disturbances, or disruptions in the environment, are particularly important to understand in the context of long-term background changes such as increasing sea level, and GCE researchers are working to assess the cumulative effects of multiple disturbances on the landscape. The GCE education and outreach program works to share an understanding of coastal ecosystems with teachers and students, coastal managers, citizen scientist and the general public. 6. Funding Source: NSF OCE 1832178 B. Sub-project Description 1. Site Description a. Geographic Location: GCE11 -- Tidal Forest, Georgia, USA Coordinates: GCE11 -- NW: 081 29 31.88 W, 31 22 44.54 N NE: 081 29 26.62 W, 31 22 44.54 N SE: 081 29 26.62 W, 31 22 37.62 N SW: 081 29 31.88 W, 31 22 37.62 N b. Physiographic Region: GCE11 -- unspecified c. Landform Components: GCE11 -- unspecified d. Hydrographic Characteristics: GCE11 -- unspecified e. Topographic Attributes: GCE11 -- unspecified f. Geology, Lithology and Soils: GCE11 -- unspecified g. Vegetation Communities: GCE11 -- unspecified h. History of Land Use and Disturbance: none recorded i. Climate: Climate summary for Sapelo Island, Georgia, based on NWS data from 1980-2010: Daily-aggregated Values: Mean (sample standard deviation) mean air temperature: 20.09°C (7.28°C) minimum air temperature: 15.02°C (7.96°C) maximum air temperature: 24.82°C (6.98°C) total precipitation: 3.26mm (10.3mm) Yearly-aggregated Daily Values: Mean (sample standard deviation) total precipitation (1980-2010): 1124mm (266mm) 2. Experimental or Sampling Design a. Design Characteristics: Dendrometric bands were established on 40 randomly selected trees and measured every year. b. Permanent Plots: Two representative 0.1-ha plots were established and surveyed in 2013. 40 randomly selected trees in the plots were banded with dendrobands to monitor changes in DBH over time. c. Data Collection Duration and Frequency: not specified Beginning of Observations: Dec 01, 2013 End of Observations: Jan 31, 2021 3. Research Methods a. Field and Laboratory Methods: DBH measurement -- Installing and measuring dendrometer bands for assessing tree growth in response to environmental conditions. b. Protocols: GCE 11 Tidal Forest Plot Layout and Tagged Trees Organization: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Description: Map showing the layout of the tidal forest plots at GCE 11. Tagged trees locations are also noted. URL: http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/resource_details.asp?id=835&version=1 Author: Sarah Widney (email: sewidney@indiana.edu)Dendrometer band SOP Organization: National Wetland Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana Description: Standard Operating Procedures to describe the procedures necessary to install dendrometer bands, and to measure and analyze data from dendrometer band investigation. National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana. URL: http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/resource_details.asp?id=834&version=1 Author: Christopher B. Craft (email: ccraft@indiana.edu) c. Instrumentation: none d. Taxonomy and Systematics: C.L. Brown and L.K. Kirkman. 1990. Trees of Georgia and adjacent states. Timber Press, Inc., Portland, Oregon. e. Speclies List: f. Permit History: not applicable 4. Project Personnel a. Personnel: 1: Christopher B. Craft 2: Courtney Mobilian 3: Sarah Widney 4: Dontrece Smith 5: McKenna Stahl b. Affiliations: 1: Indiana University at Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana 2: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 3: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 4: University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapelo Island, Georgia 5: Indiana University III. Data Set Status and Accessibility A. Status 1. Latest Update: 17-Nov-2023 2. Latest Archive Date: 09-Jun-2021 3. Latest Metadata Update: 17-Nov-2023 4. Data Verification Status: Reviewed by IM B. Accessibility 1. Storage Location and Medium: Stored at GCE-LTER Data Management Office Dept. of Marine Sciences Univ. of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-3636 USA on media: electronic data download (WWW) or compact disk 2. Contact Person: Name: Adam Sapp Address: Department of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602 Country: USA Email: asapp@uga.edu 3. Copyright Restrictions: not copyrighted 4. Restrictions: This information is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The consumer of these data ("Data User" herein) has an ethical obligation to cite it appropriately in any publication that results from its use. The Data User should realize that these data may be actively used by others for ongoing research and that coordination may be necessary to prevent duplicate publication. The Data User is urged to contact the authors of these data if any questions about methodology or results occur. Where appropriate, the Data User is encouraged to consider collaboration or co-authorship with the authors. The Data User should realize that misinterpretation of data may occur if used out of context of the original study. While substantial efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of data and associated documentation, complete accuracy of data sets cannot be guaranteed. All data are made available "as is." The Data User should be aware, however, that data are updated periodically and it is the responsibility of the Data User to check for new versions of the data. The data authors and the repository where these data were obtained shall not be liable for damages resulting from any use or misinterpretation of the data. a. Release Date: Affiliates: Nov 13, 2017, Public: Feb 01, 2018 b. Citation: Data provided by the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research Project, supported by funds from NSF OCE 1832178 (data set PLT-GCED-1711) c. Disclaimer: The user assumes all responsibility for errors in judgement based on interpretation of data and analyses presented in this data set. 5. Costs: free electronic data download via WWW, distribution on CD may be subject to nominal processing and handling fee IV. Data Structural Descriptors A. Data Set File 1. File Name: PLT-GCED-1711_3_0.CSV 2. Size: 240 records 3. File Format: ASCII text (comma-separated value format) 3a. Delimiters: single comma 4. Header Information: 5 lines of ASCII text 5. Alphanumeric Attributes: 6. Quality Control Flag Codes: Q = questionable value, I = invalid value, E = estimated value 7. Authentication Procedures: 8. Calculations: 9. Processing History: Software version: GCE Data Toolbox Version 3.9.10 (23-May-2022) Data structure version: GCE Data Structure 1.1 (29-Mar-2001) Original data file processed: PLT-GCED-1711.txt (240 records) Data processing history: 09-Jun-2021: new GCE Data Structure 1.1 created ('newstruct') 09-Jun-2021: 240 rows imported from ASCII data file 'PLT-GCED-1711.txt' ('imp_ascii') 09-Jun-2021: 83 metadata fields in file header parsed ('parse_header') 09-Jun-2021: data structure validated ('gce_valid') 09-Jun-2021: Q/C flagging criteria applied, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 09-Jun-2021: automatically assigned study date metadata descriptors based on the range of date values in date/time columns (add_studydates) 09-Jun-2021: updated 1 metadata fields in the Dataset sections ('addmeta') 09-Jun-2021: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 09-Jun-2021: updated 57 metadata fields in the Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('addmeta') 17-Nov-2023: Units of column Tree_Species changed from 'species' to 'none ('ui_editor') 17-Nov-2023: flags for column BandMeasure_Increase converted to data columns, flag codes updated in metadata ('flags2cols') 17-Nov-2023: updated 6 metadata fields in the Data section(s) ('addmeta') 17-Nov-2023: updated 15 metadata fields in the Status, Data sections to reflect attribute metadata ('updatecols') 17-Nov-2023: parsed and formatted metadata ('listmeta') B. Variable Information 1. Variable Name: column 1. Year column 2. Month column 3. Tag column 4. Tree_Species column 5. Diameter_Breast_Height column 6. BandMeasure_Increase column 7. Flag_BandMeasure_Increase column 8. Notes column 9. Site_Code 2. Variable Definition: column 1. Year of measurement column 2. Nominal month of measurement column 3. Identification tag on tree column 4. Individual tree species column 5. Tree diameter at breast height in December 2014 column 6. Increase in circumference from baseline measurement in December 2014, measured from a dendrometer band column 7. QA/QC flags for Increase in circumference from baseline measurement in December 2014, measured from a dendrometer band (flagging criteria, where "x" is BandMeasure_Increase: x<0="I", x<0="Q", x>10="Q") column 8. Important information affecting interpretation of data column 9. GCE site code 3. Units of Measurement: column 1. YYYY column 2. MM column 3. none column 4. none column 5. centimeters column 6. centimeters column 7. none column 8. none column 9. none 4. Data Type a. Storage Type: column 1. integer column 2. integer column 3. integer column 4. string column 5. floating-point column 6. floating-point column 7. string column 8. string column 9. string b. Variable Codes: Tree_Species: AcRu = Acer rubrum, FrPe = Fraxinus pennsylanica, LiSt = Liquidambar styraciflua, NyAq = Nyssa aquatica, NyBi = Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora, TaDi = Taxodium distichum Flag_BandMeasure_Increase: Q = questionable value c. Numeric Range: column 1. 2014 to 2021 column 2. 1 to 12 column 3. 1 to 40 column 4. (none) column 5. 11 to 56 column 6. 0 to 12.5 column 7. (none) column 8. (none) column 9. (none) d. Missing Value Code: 5. Data Format a. Column Type: column 1. numerical column 2. numerical column 3. numerical column 4. text column 5. numerical column 6. numerical column 7. text column 8. text column 9. text b. Number of Columns: 9 c. Decimal Places: column 1. 0 column 2. 0 column 3. 0 column 4. 0 column 5. 0 column 6. 1 column 7. 0 column 8. 0 column 9. 0 6. Logical Variable Type: column 1. datetime (discrete) column 2. datetime (discrete) column 3. nominal (discrete) column 4. coded value (none) column 5. data (continuous) column 6. data (continuous) column 7. coded value (none) column 8. free text (none) column 9. nominal (none) 7. Flagging Criteria: column 1. none column 2. none column 3. x<1="Q";x>40="Q" column 4. none column 5. x<0="I";x<10="Q";x>100="Q" column 6. x<0="I";x<0="Q";x>10="Q" column 7. none column 8. none column 9. none C. Data Anomalies: n/a V. Supplemental Descriptors A. Data Acquisition 1. Data Forms: n/a 2. Form Location: n/a 3. Data Entry Validation: n/a B. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Procedures: C. Supplemental Materials: n/a D. Computer Programs: Microsoft Excel 2007 E. Archival Practices: F. Publications: not specified G. History of Data Set Usage 1. Data Request History: not specified 2. Data Set Update History: Jun 09, 2021: Added data from recent surveys 3. Review History: none 4. Questions and Comments from Users: none