I. Data Set Descriptors A. Title: Christopher B. Craft. 2017. Forest survey of species richness and basal area for two tidal forest plots in December 2013. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Catalog (data set PLT-GCED-1711a; http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?accession=PLT-GCED-1711a) B. Accession Number: PLT-GCED-1711a 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 the Site 11 tidal forest in December 2013 to monitor forest composition. In each plot, we identified the species and measured DBH (diameter at breast height) of every tree using standard diameter tapes. We also used the DBH measurements to calculate the basal area of each tree. 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: basal area, BDH, GCE, Georgia, Georgia Coastal Ecosystems, LTER, Primary Production, productivity, Sapelo Island, species composition, tidal forest, USA II. Research Origin Descriptors A. Overall Project Description 1. Project Title: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project III 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: Nov 01, 2012 to Nov 01, 2018 4. Objectives: The research proposed for GCE-III is designed to address how variations in salinity and inundation, driven by climate change and anthropogenic factors, affect biotic and ecosystem responses at different spatial and temporal scales, and to predict the consequences of these changes for habitat provisioning and carbon (C) sequestration across the coastal landscape. 5. Abstract: The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems (GCE) LTER is located along three adjacent sounds on the Atlantic coast and includes both intertidal marshes and estuaries. Long-term drivers of climate change, sea level rise and human alterations of the landscape will cause transitions in dominant habitat types (state changes) within the GCE domain by changing the amounts and patterns of water delivery across the landscape. These changes in water delivery can be conceptualized as presses and pulses in river inflow, local runoff, groundwater input, and tidal inundation, which will in turn manifest themselves as changes in salinity and inundation patterns in the domain. The research proposed for GCE-III is designed to address how variations in salinity and inundation, driven by climate change and anthropogenic factors, affect biotic and ecosystem responses at different spatial and temporal scales, and to predict the consequences of these changes for habitat provisioning and carbon (C) sequestration across the coastal landscape. The goals are to: 1) Track long-term changes in climate and human actions in the watershed and adjacent uplands, and evaluate the effects of these drivers on domain boundary conditions. 2) Describe temporal and spatial variability in physical, chemical, geological and biological, and to evaluate how they are affected by variations in river inflow and other boundary conditions. 3) Characterize the responses of three dominant habitats in the domain to pulses and presses in salinity and inundation. 4) Describe patterns of habitat provisioning and C sequestration and export in the GCE domain, and to evaluate how these might be affected by changes in salinity and inundation. These efforts will be synthesized into a synoptic understanding of both biotic and ecosystem responses to variations in salinity and inundation driven by climate change and human activities, which will be used to assess thresholds between habitats and the potential for state changes in the domain. 6. Funding Source: NSF OCE 1237140 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: In each 0.1-ha plot, we identified the species and measured DBH (diameter at breast height) of every tree using standard diameter tapes. b. Permanent Plots: Two representative 0.1-ha plots were established and surveyed in December 2013. c. Data Collection Duration and Frequency: not specified Beginning of Observations: Dec 01, 2013 End of Observations: Dec 31, 2013 3. Research Methods a. Field and Laboratory Methods: DBH measurement -- In each 0.1-ha plot, we identified the species and measured DBH (diameter at breast height) of every tree using standard diameter tapes. b. Protocols: none 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: McKenna Stahl 3: Sarah Widney 4: Dontrece Smith b. Affiliations: 1: Indiana University at Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana 2: Indiana University 3: Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 4: University of Georgia Marine Institute, Sapelo Island, Georgia III. Data Set Status and Accessibility A. Status 1. Latest Update: 04-Jan-2018 2. Latest Archive Date: 04-Jan-2018 3. Latest Metadata Update: 04-Jan-2018 4. Data Verification Status: New Submission 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: Wade M. Sheldon, Jr. Address: Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602-3636 Country: USA Email: sheldon@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: Nov 13, 2019 b. Citation: Data provided by the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research Project, supported by funds from NSF OCE 1237140 (data set PLT-GCED-1711a) 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-1711a_1_0.CSV 2. Size: 235 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: BasalArea: Basal area = (pi/(4*10000)) * (DBH^2) 9. Processing History: Software version: GCE Data Toolbox Version 3.9.6b (27-Aug-2016) Data structure version: GCE Data Structure 1.1 (29-Mar-2001) Original data file processed: PLT-GCED-1711a.txt (235 records) Data processing history: 04-Jan-2018: new GCE Data Structure 1.1 created ('newstruct') 04-Jan-2018: 235 rows imported from ASCII data file 'PLT-GCED-1711a.txt' ('imp_ascii') 04-Jan-2018: 83 metadata fields in file header parsed ('parse_header') 04-Jan-2018: data structure validated ('gce_valid') 04-Jan-2018: Q/C flagging criteria applied, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 04-Jan-2018: updated 1 metadata fields in the Dataset sections ('addmeta') 04-Jan-2018: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 04-Jan-2018: updated 57 metadata fields in the Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('addmeta') 04-Jan-2018: Units of column Tree_Species changed from 'species' to 'none'; Units of column DBH changed from 'centimeters' to 'Centimeters'; Units of column BasalArea changed from 'meters squared' to 'square meter ('ui_editor') 04-Jan-2018: copied/reordered columns Site_Code, Plot, Quadrant, Tree_Species, DBH, Tag_Number and BasalArea ('copycols') 04-Jan-2018: replaced values of 'Site11' in column(s) Site_Code with 'GCE11', performing a full case-sensitive match ('string_replace') 04-Jan-2018: 235 values in 'Site_Code' were updated with new values ('update_data') 04-Jan-2018: Q/C flagging criteria applied for column(s) Site_Code, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 04-Jan-2018: updated 6 metadata fields in the Data sections ('addmeta') 04-Jan-2018: updated 15 metadata fields in the Status, Data sections to reflect attribute metadata ('updatecols') 04-Jan-2018: parsed and formatted metadata ('listmeta') B. Variable Information 1. Variable Name: column 1. Site_Code column 2. Plot column 3. Quadrant column 4. Tree_Species column 5. DBH column 6. Tag_Number column 7. BasalArea 2. Variable Definition: column 1. GCE Site code column 2. 0.1 hectare survey unit column 3. Region of plot distinguished by cardinal direction column 4. Individual tree species column 5. Tree diameter at breast height column 6. Tag number on tree for identification in dendrometer band dataset column 7. Cross sectional area of the tree at breast height 3. Units of Measurement: column 1. none column 2. none column 3. none column 4. none column 5. Centimeters column 6. none column 7. square meter 4. Data Type a. Storage Type: column 1. string column 2. integer column 3. string column 4. string column 5. floating-point column 6. integer column 7. floating-point b. Variable Codes: Quadrant: N = North, E = East, W = West, S = South, NE = Northeast, NW = Northwest, SE = Southeast, SW = Southwest Tree_Species: AcRu = Acer rubrum, CaCa = Carpinus caroliniana, FrPe = Fraxinus pennsylanica, LiSt = Liquidambar styraciflua, MaVi = Magnolia virginiana, NyAq = Nyssa aquatica, NyBi = Nyssa sylvatica var. biflora, QuLy = Quercus lyrata, TaDi = Taxodium distichum, Oak = Quercus spp. c. Numeric Range: column 1. (none) column 2. 1 to 2 column 3. (none) column 4. (none) column 5. 10 to 105 column 6. 5 to 40 column 7. 0.007854 to 0.8659 d. Missing Value Code: 5. Data Format a. Column Type: column 1. text column 2. numerical column 3. text column 4. text column 5. numerical column 6. numerical column 7. numerical b. Number of Columns: 7 c. Decimal Places: column 1. 0 column 2. 0 column 3. 0 column 4. 0 column 5. 0 column 6. 0 column 7. 3 6. Logical Variable Type: column 1. nominal (none) column 2. nominal (discrete) column 3. coded value (none) column 4. coded value (none) column 5. data (continuous) column 6. nominal (discrete) column 7. calculation (continuous) 7. Flagging Criteria: column 1. none column 2. x<1="I";x>2="I";x<1="Q";x>2="Q" column 3. none column 4. none column 5. x<10="I";x>1000="I";x<10="Q";x>200="Q" column 6. none column 7. x<0="I";x>1="I";x<0="Q";x>1="Q" 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: none 3. Review History: none 4. Questions and Comments from Users: none