I. Data Set Descriptors A. Title: Amy E. Kunza Vargas. 2007. Plant richness survey of mainland and barrier island locations along the Texas Gulf Coast in April and May 2005. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Catalog (data set PLT-GCET-0711; http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?accession=PLT-GCET-0711) B. Accession Number: PLT-GCET-0711 C. Description 1. Originator(s): Name: Amy E. Kunza Vargas Address: 915A Saulnier Houston, Texas 77019 Country: USA Email: amykunza@hotmail.com 2. Abstract: I conducted a plant richness survey of 49 sites on the Texas Gulf Coast in the Spring (April-May) of 2005. Sites were chosen to include a range of mainland and barrier island locations. All sites were dominated by salt marsh plant species, primarily Spartina alterniflora. To provide a general indication of the salinity conditions prevailing at each site, I measured salinity of the nearest body of water with a refractometer on the date that the site was sampled. Plant richness was documented along a single 5.0m wide transect at each site. Each transect began at the lower elevational limit of vegetation and continued perpendicular to the water’s edge to the shrub community at the upper marsh border. Plant presence was noted in a series of nested subplots within a 1.0m x 5.0m plot at each meter along the transect. The results posted here are sites, position, salinity, and the site pool, or species encountered at the site. This data set is a companion to PLT-GCET-0608, which provides similar data for sites around Sapelo Island, Georgia. 3. Study Type: Graduate Thesis Study 4. Study Themes: Plant Ecology, Population Ecology 5. LTER Core Areas: Populations 6. Georeferences: geographic coordinates as data columns 7. Submission Date: Nov 29, 2007 D. Keywords: barrier island, community composition, Gulf of Mexico, hammock, marshes, plant communities, plant cover, plants, Populations, shoot height, species richness, terrestrial, Texas II. Research Origin Descriptors A. Overall Project Description 1. Project Title: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project 2. Principal Investigators: Name: James T. Hollibaugh Address: Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602-3636 Country: USA Email: aquadoc@uga.edu 3. Funding Period: May 01, 2000 to May 01, 2006 4. Objectives: To investigate the linkages between coastal and distant upland areas in central Georgia mediated by surface and ground water delivery to the coastal zone. This will be addressed by examining the relationship between variability in environmental factors driven by river flow, primarily salinity, and ecosystem processes and structure. 5. Abstract: We propose to establish a Long Term Ecological Research site on the central Georgia coast in the vicinity of Sapelo Island. This is a barrier island and marsh complex with the Altamaha River, one of the largest and least developed rivers on the east coast of the US, as the primary source of fresh water. The proposed study would investigate the linkages between local and distant upland areas mediated by water - surface water and ground water - delivery to the coastal zone. We would explicitly examine the relationship between variability in environmental factors driven by river flow, primarily salinity because we can measure it at high frequency, and ecosystem processes and structure. We will accomplish this by comparing estuary/marsh complexes separated from the Altamaha River by one or two lagoonal estuary/marsh complexes that damp and attenuate the river signal. This spatial gradient is analogous to the temporal trend in riverine influence expected as a result of development in the watershed. We will implement a monitoring system that documents physical and biological variables and use the time trends and spatial distributions of these variables and of their variance structure to address questions about the factors controlling distributions, trophic structure, diversity, and biogeochemistry. An existing GIS-based hydrologic model will be modified to incorporate changes in river water resulting from changes in land use patterns that can be expected as the watershed develops. This model will be linked to ecosystem models and will serve as an heuristic and management tool. Another consequence of coastal development is that as river flow decreases, groundwater flow increases and becomes nutrified. We will compare the effects of ground water discharge from the surficial aquifer in relatively pristine (Sapelo Island) versus more urbanized (mainland) sites to assess the relative importance of fresh water versus nutrients to productivity, structure and biomass turnover rate in marshes influenced by groundwater. We will also investigate the effect of marine processes (tides, storm surge) on mixing across the fresh/salt interface in the surficial aquifer. Additional physical studies will relate the morphology of salt marsh - tidal creek channel complexes to tidal current distributions and exchange. These findings will be incorporated into a physical model that will be coupled to an existing ecosystem model. The land/ocean margin ecosystem lies at the interface between two ecosystems in which distinctly different groups of decomposers control organic matter degradation. The terrestrial ecosystem is largely dominated by fungal decomposers, while bacterial decomposers dominate the marine ecosystem. Both groups are important in salt marsh-dominated ecosystems. Specific studies will examine, at the level of individual cells and hyphae, the relationship bacteria and fungi in the consortia that decompose standing dead Spartina and other marsh plants and examine how, or if, this changes along the salinity gradient. 6. Funding Source: NSF OCE 9982133 B. Sub-project Description 1. Site Description a. Geographic Location: TexasGulf -- Texas Gulf Coast, Texas, USA 45_Bridge_Mainland -- 45_Bridge_Mainland Allens_Landing -- Allens_Landing Beach_Bait_Tackle -- Beach_Bait_Tackle Beach_Resort -- Beach_Resort Black_Point -- Black_Point Cedar_Break -- Cedar_Break Clapper_Rail_Trail -- Clapper_Rail_Trail Copano_Pier_North -- Copano_Pier_North Copano_Pier_South -- Copano_Pier_South Crabbing_Pier -- Crabbing_Pier Dana_Cove -- Dana_Cove Egery_Island -- Egery_Island Ernies_Too -- Ernies_Too Fireworks -- Fireworks Fort_Travis -- Fort_Travis GISP_Boat_Ramp -- GISP_Boat_Ramp GISP_Redfish_1 -- GISP_Redfish_1 GISP_Redfish_2 -- GISP_Redfish_2 GISP_Trout_Lane -- GISP_Trout_Lane Golf_Course -- Golf_Course Highway_136 -- Highway_136 Hitchcock -- Hitchcock Holiday_Inn_Express -- Holiday_Inn_Express Indianola -- Indianola Magnolia_Beach -- Magnolia_Beach Matagorda_1 -- Matagorda_1 Matagorda_2 -- Matagorda_2 Matagorda_3 -- Matagorda_3 Matagorda_4 -- Matagorda_4 Millers_Point -- Millers_Point No_Dumping -- No_Dumping Olivia_West_RV_Park -- Olivia_West_RV_Park Palacious_East -- Palacious_East Palacious_West -- Palacious_West Port_Aransas -- Port_Aransas Port_Bay -- Port_Bay Port_OConner -- Port_OConner Powederhorn_Lake -- Powederhorn_Lake Rockport_Park -- Rockport_Park San_Luis_Pass -- San_Luis_Pass Shell_Ridge -- Shell_Ridge Spoonbill_RV_Park -- Spoonbill_RV_Park Steves_Landing -- Steves_Landing Stilthouse -- Stilthouse Surfside_1 -- Surfside_1 Tarpon_Lane -- Tarpon_Lane Tiki_Island -- Tiki_Island Watermans_Harbor -- Watermans_Harbor Yacht_Basin -- Yacht_Basin Coordinates: TexasGulf -- NW: 097 13 56.42 W, 29 59 52.19 N NE: 094 13 52.19 W, 29 59 52.19 N SE: 094 13 52.19 W, 27 51 28.12 N SW: 097 13 56.42 W, 27 51 28.12 N 45_Bridge_Mainland -- 094 54 31.2 W, 29 18 34.2 N Allens_Landing -- 095 57 44.4 W, 28 38 57.6 N Beach_Bait_Tackle -- 095 18 23.4 W, 28 57 55.8 N Beach_Resort -- 095 17 23.4 W, 28 57 07.2 N Black_Point -- 097 13 19.8 W, 28 04 39.6 N Cedar_Break -- 095 10 46.2 W, 29 02 10.2 N Clapper_Rail_Trail -- 094 57 26.4 W, 29 12 04.8 N Copano_Pier_North -- 097 00 36.0 W, 28 08 07.8 N Copano_Pier_South -- 097 01 31.8 W, 28 06 40.8 N Crabbing_Pier -- 095 15 45.0 W, 28 58 27.0 N Dana_Cove -- 094 57 18.0 W, 29 12 43.2 N Egery_Island -- 097 13 09.6 W, 28 04 13.2 N Ernies_Too -- 095 09 52.8 W, 29 02 54.6 N Fireworks -- 095 14 29.4 W, 28 59 19.8 N Fort_Travis -- 094 45 39.6 W, 29 21 54.6 N GISP_Boat_Ramp -- 094 51 51.6 W, 29 15 17.4 N GISP_Redfish_1 -- 096 59 07.8 W, 28 07 46.8 N GISP_Redfish_2 -- 096 59 21.6 W, 28 07 42.0 N GISP_Trout_Lane -- 096 59 14.4 W, 28 07 41.4 N Golf_Course -- 096 58 49.2 W, 28 07 31.2 N Highway_136 -- 097 13 17.4 W, 28 03 33.0 N Hitchcock -- 094 56 53.4 W, 29 19 53.4 N Holiday_Inn_Express -- 097 02 46.8 W, 28 01 51.0 N Indianola -- 096 30 17.4 W, 28 31 06.0 N Magnolia_Beach -- 096 32 08.4 W, 28 33 20.4 N Matagorda_1 -- 095 57 13.8 W, 28 40 48.6 N Matagorda_2 -- 095 58 16.2 W, 28 37 31.2 N Matagorda_3 -- 095 58 28.2 W, 28 36 31.8 N Matagorda_4 -- 095 57 57.0 W, 28 38 28.2 N Millers_Point -- 094 55 01.8 W, 29 26 42.0 N No_Dumping -- 095 16 01.8 W, 28 58 09.0 N Olivia_West_RV_Park -- 096 27 34.2 W, 28 38 39.6 N Palacious_East -- 096 24 06.0 W, 28 44 15.0 N Palacious_West -- 096 24 00.0 W, 28 44 10.2 N Port_Aransas -- 097 05 03.6 W, 27 52 00.6 N Port_Bay -- 097 10 01.2 W, 27 59 39.0 N Port_OConner -- 096 24 52.8 W, 28 27 33.6 N Powederhorn_Lake -- 096 30 30.6 W, 28 30 36.0 N Rockport_Park -- 097 02 10.2 W, 28 02 01.8 N San_Luis_Pass -- 095 07 53.4 W, 29 04 09.6 N Shell_Ridge -- 097 03 37.8 W, 28 00 09.0 N Spoonbill_RV_Park -- 094 46 31.2 W, 29 32 24.6 N Steves_Landing -- 094 38 41.4 W, 29 28 00.0 N Stilthouse -- 095 12 25.2 W, 29 00 57.6 N Surfside_1 -- 095 16 42.0 W, 28 57 36.0 N Tarpon_Lane -- 095 17 46.2 W, 28 57 39.6 N Tiki_Island -- 094 54 30.6 W, 29 17 56.4 N Watermans_Harbor -- 094 58 25.2 W, 29 27 27.6 N Yacht_Basin -- 094 30 36.6 W, 29 30 45.6 N b. Physiographic Region: TexasGulf -- unspecified 45_Bridge_Mainland -- unspecified Allens_Landing -- unspecified Beach_Bait_Tackle -- unspecified Beach_Resort -- unspecified Black_Point -- unspecified Cedar_Break -- unspecified Clapper_Rail_Trail -- unspecified Copano_Pier_North -- unspecified Copano_Pier_South -- unspecified Crabbing_Pier -- unspecified Dana_Cove -- unspecified Egery_Island -- unspecified Ernies_Too -- unspecified Fireworks -- unspecified Fort_Travis -- unspecified GISP_Boat_Ramp -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_1 -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_2 -- unspecified GISP_Trout_Lane -- unspecified Golf_Course -- unspecified Highway_136 -- unspecified Hitchcock -- unspecified Holiday_Inn_Express -- unspecified Indianola -- unspecified Magnolia_Beach -- unspecified Matagorda_1 -- unspecified Matagorda_2 -- unspecified Matagorda_3 -- unspecified Matagorda_4 -- unspecified Millers_Point -- unspecified No_Dumping -- unspecified Olivia_West_RV_Park -- unspecified Palacious_East -- unspecified Palacious_West -- unspecified Port_Aransas -- unspecified Port_Bay -- unspecified Port_OConner -- unspecified Powederhorn_Lake -- unspecified Rockport_Park -- unspecified San_Luis_Pass -- unspecified Shell_Ridge -- unspecified Spoonbill_RV_Park -- unspecified Steves_Landing -- unspecified Stilthouse -- unspecified Surfside_1 -- unspecified Tarpon_Lane -- unspecified Tiki_Island -- unspecified Watermans_Harbor -- unspecified Yacht_Basin -- unspecified c. Landform Components: TexasGulf -- unspecified 45_Bridge_Mainland -- unspecified Allens_Landing -- unspecified Beach_Bait_Tackle -- unspecified Beach_Resort -- unspecified Black_Point -- unspecified Cedar_Break -- unspecified Clapper_Rail_Trail -- unspecified Copano_Pier_North -- unspecified Copano_Pier_South -- unspecified Crabbing_Pier -- unspecified Dana_Cove -- unspecified Egery_Island -- unspecified Ernies_Too -- unspecified Fireworks -- unspecified Fort_Travis -- unspecified GISP_Boat_Ramp -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_1 -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_2 -- unspecified GISP_Trout_Lane -- unspecified Golf_Course -- unspecified Highway_136 -- unspecified Hitchcock -- unspecified Holiday_Inn_Express -- unspecified Indianola -- unspecified Magnolia_Beach -- unspecified Matagorda_1 -- unspecified Matagorda_2 -- unspecified Matagorda_3 -- unspecified Matagorda_4 -- unspecified Millers_Point -- unspecified No_Dumping -- unspecified Olivia_West_RV_Park -- unspecified Palacious_East -- unspecified Palacious_West -- unspecified Port_Aransas -- unspecified Port_Bay -- unspecified Port_OConner -- unspecified Powederhorn_Lake -- unspecified Rockport_Park -- unspecified San_Luis_Pass -- unspecified Shell_Ridge -- unspecified Spoonbill_RV_Park -- unspecified Steves_Landing -- unspecified Stilthouse -- unspecified Surfside_1 -- unspecified Tarpon_Lane -- unspecified Tiki_Island -- unspecified Watermans_Harbor -- unspecified Yacht_Basin -- unspecified d. Hydrographic Characteristics: TexasGulf -- unspecified 45_Bridge_Mainland -- unspecified Allens_Landing -- unspecified Beach_Bait_Tackle -- unspecified Beach_Resort -- unspecified Black_Point -- unspecified Cedar_Break -- unspecified Clapper_Rail_Trail -- unspecified Copano_Pier_North -- unspecified Copano_Pier_South -- unspecified Crabbing_Pier -- unspecified Dana_Cove -- unspecified Egery_Island -- unspecified Ernies_Too -- unspecified Fireworks -- unspecified Fort_Travis -- unspecified GISP_Boat_Ramp -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_1 -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_2 -- unspecified GISP_Trout_Lane -- unspecified Golf_Course -- unspecified Highway_136 -- unspecified Hitchcock -- unspecified Holiday_Inn_Express -- unspecified Indianola -- unspecified Magnolia_Beach -- unspecified Matagorda_1 -- unspecified Matagorda_2 -- unspecified Matagorda_3 -- unspecified Matagorda_4 -- unspecified Millers_Point -- unspecified No_Dumping -- unspecified Olivia_West_RV_Park -- unspecified Palacious_East -- unspecified Palacious_West -- unspecified Port_Aransas -- unspecified Port_Bay -- unspecified Port_OConner -- unspecified Powederhorn_Lake -- unspecified Rockport_Park -- unspecified San_Luis_Pass -- unspecified Shell_Ridge -- unspecified Spoonbill_RV_Park -- unspecified Steves_Landing -- unspecified Stilthouse -- unspecified Surfside_1 -- unspecified Tarpon_Lane -- unspecified Tiki_Island -- unspecified Watermans_Harbor -- unspecified Yacht_Basin -- unspecified e. Topographic Attributes: TexasGulf -- unspecified 45_Bridge_Mainland -- unspecified Allens_Landing -- unspecified Beach_Bait_Tackle -- unspecified Beach_Resort -- unspecified Black_Point -- unspecified Cedar_Break -- unspecified Clapper_Rail_Trail -- unspecified Copano_Pier_North -- unspecified Copano_Pier_South -- unspecified Crabbing_Pier -- unspecified Dana_Cove -- unspecified Egery_Island -- unspecified Ernies_Too -- unspecified Fireworks -- unspecified Fort_Travis -- unspecified GISP_Boat_Ramp -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_1 -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_2 -- unspecified GISP_Trout_Lane -- unspecified Golf_Course -- unspecified Highway_136 -- unspecified Hitchcock -- unspecified Holiday_Inn_Express -- unspecified Indianola -- unspecified Magnolia_Beach -- unspecified Matagorda_1 -- unspecified Matagorda_2 -- unspecified Matagorda_3 -- unspecified Matagorda_4 -- unspecified Millers_Point -- unspecified No_Dumping -- unspecified Olivia_West_RV_Park -- unspecified Palacious_East -- unspecified Palacious_West -- unspecified Port_Aransas -- unspecified Port_Bay -- unspecified Port_OConner -- unspecified Powederhorn_Lake -- unspecified Rockport_Park -- unspecified San_Luis_Pass -- unspecified Shell_Ridge -- unspecified Spoonbill_RV_Park -- unspecified Steves_Landing -- unspecified Stilthouse -- unspecified Surfside_1 -- unspecified Tarpon_Lane -- unspecified Tiki_Island -- unspecified Watermans_Harbor -- unspecified Yacht_Basin -- unspecified f. Geology, Lithology and Soils: TexasGulf -- unspecified 45_Bridge_Mainland -- unspecified Allens_Landing -- unspecified Beach_Bait_Tackle -- unspecified Beach_Resort -- unspecified Black_Point -- unspecified Cedar_Break -- unspecified Clapper_Rail_Trail -- unspecified Copano_Pier_North -- unspecified Copano_Pier_South -- unspecified Crabbing_Pier -- unspecified Dana_Cove -- unspecified Egery_Island -- unspecified Ernies_Too -- unspecified Fireworks -- unspecified Fort_Travis -- unspecified GISP_Boat_Ramp -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_1 -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_2 -- unspecified GISP_Trout_Lane -- unspecified Golf_Course -- unspecified Highway_136 -- unspecified Hitchcock -- unspecified Holiday_Inn_Express -- unspecified Indianola -- unspecified Magnolia_Beach -- unspecified Matagorda_1 -- unspecified Matagorda_2 -- unspecified Matagorda_3 -- unspecified Matagorda_4 -- unspecified Millers_Point -- unspecified No_Dumping -- unspecified Olivia_West_RV_Park -- unspecified Palacious_East -- unspecified Palacious_West -- unspecified Port_Aransas -- unspecified Port_Bay -- unspecified Port_OConner -- unspecified Powederhorn_Lake -- unspecified Rockport_Park -- unspecified San_Luis_Pass -- unspecified Shell_Ridge -- unspecified Spoonbill_RV_Park -- unspecified Steves_Landing -- unspecified Stilthouse -- unspecified Surfside_1 -- unspecified Tarpon_Lane -- unspecified Tiki_Island -- unspecified Watermans_Harbor -- unspecified Yacht_Basin -- unspecified g. Vegetation Communities: TexasGulf -- unspecified 45_Bridge_Mainland -- unspecified Allens_Landing -- unspecified Beach_Bait_Tackle -- unspecified Beach_Resort -- unspecified Black_Point -- unspecified Cedar_Break -- unspecified Clapper_Rail_Trail -- unspecified Copano_Pier_North -- unspecified Copano_Pier_South -- unspecified Crabbing_Pier -- unspecified Dana_Cove -- unspecified Egery_Island -- unspecified Ernies_Too -- unspecified Fireworks -- unspecified Fort_Travis -- unspecified GISP_Boat_Ramp -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_1 -- unspecified GISP_Redfish_2 -- unspecified GISP_Trout_Lane -- unspecified Golf_Course -- unspecified Highway_136 -- unspecified Hitchcock -- unspecified Holiday_Inn_Express -- unspecified Indianola -- unspecified Magnolia_Beach -- unspecified Matagorda_1 -- unspecified Matagorda_2 -- unspecified Matagorda_3 -- unspecified Matagorda_4 -- unspecified Millers_Point -- unspecified No_Dumping -- unspecified Olivia_West_RV_Park -- unspecified Palacious_East -- unspecified Palacious_West -- unspecified Port_Aransas -- unspecified Port_Bay -- unspecified Port_OConner -- unspecified Powederhorn_Lake -- unspecified Rockport_Park -- unspecified San_Luis_Pass -- unspecified Shell_Ridge -- unspecified Spoonbill_RV_Park -- unspecified Steves_Landing -- unspecified Stilthouse -- unspecified Surfside_1 -- unspecified Tarpon_Lane -- unspecified Tiki_Island -- unspecified Watermans_Harbor -- unspecified Yacht_Basin -- 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: Plant richness was documented along a single 5.0m wide transect at each site. Each transect began at the lower elevational limit of vegetation and continued perpendicular to the water's edge to the shrub community at the upper marsh border. Plant presence was noted in a series of nested subplots within a 1.0m x 5.0m plot at each meter along the transect. b. Permanent Plots: none c. Data Collection Duration and Frequency: Plant presence or absence was noted visually Beginning of Observations: Apr 20, 2005 End of Observations: May 25, 2005 3. Research Methods a. Field and Laboratory Methods: Method 1: Site Selection -- Sites were chosen to include a range of mainland, barrier island, and backbarrier hammock island locations. All sites were dominated by salt marsh plant species, primarily Spartina alterniflora. Method 2: Plant Survey -- Plant richness was documented along a single 5.0m wide transect at each site. Each transect began at the lower elevational limit of vegetation and continued perpendicular to the water's edge to the shrub community at the upper marsh border. Plant presence was noted in a series of nested subplots within a 1.0m x 5.0m plot at each meter along the transect. Method 3: Salinity Measurement -- To provide a general indication of the salinity conditions prevailing at each site, I measured salinity of the nearest body of water with a refractometer on the date that the site was sampled. b. Instrumentation: Method 1: Magellan GPS Manufacturer: Magellan (Model: 310) Parameter: Geographic coordinates (Accuracy: 15m, Readability: 0.01 minutes, Range: 0-180 degrees) Method 2: none Method 3: Refractometer Manufacturer: Vista (Model: A355ATC) Parameter: Salinity (Accuracy: 1 PSU, Readability: 1 PSU, Range: 0-100 PSU) c. Taxonomy and Systematics: Method 1: not applicable Method 2: Plants were identified following Duncan and Duncan 1987. Duncan, W.H. and M.B. Duncan. 1987. Seaside plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. Method 3: not applicable d. Permit History: Method 1: not applicable Method 2: not applicable Method 3: not applicable 4. Project Personnel a. Personnel: 1: Amy E. Kunza Vargas 2: Steven C. Pennings b. Affiliations: 1: University of Houston, Houston, Texas 2: University of Houston, Houston, Texas III. Data Set Status and Accessibility A. Status 1. Latest Update: 20-Jun-2013 2. Latest Archive Date: 18-Nov-2011 3. Latest Metadata Update: 20-Jun-2013 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: All publications based on this data set must cite the contributor and Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER project, and two copies of the manuscript must be submitted to the GCE-LTER Information Management Office. a. Release Date: Affiliates: Nov 29, 2007, Public: Nov 29, 2007 b. Citation: Data provided by the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research Project, supported by funds from NSF OCE 9982133 (data set PLT-GCET-0711) 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-GCET-0711_3_0.CSV 2. Size: 1568 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: mixed case 6. Quality Control Flag Codes: I = invalid value (out of range), Q = questionable value 7. Authentication Procedures: 8. Calculations: 9. Processing History: Software version: GCE Data Toolbox Version 3.6.0 (05-Jun-2013) Data structure version: GCE Data Structure 1.1 (29-Mar-2001) Original data file processed: PLT-GCET-0711.TXT (49 records) Data processing history: 13-Dec-2007: new GCE Data Structure 1.1 created ('newstruct') 13-Dec-2007: 49 rows imported from ASCII data file 'PLT-GCET-0711.TXT' ('imp_ascii') 13-Dec-2007: 13 metadata fields in file header parsed ('parse_header') 13-Dec-2007: data structure validated ('gce_valid') 13-Dec-2007: automatically assigned study date metadata descriptors based on the range of date values in date/time columns (add_studydates) 13-Dec-2007: created normalized data set by combining values in columns spa, bat, sav, sab, dst, mon, bor, lyc, jun, spp, sps, scr, cus, lim, sua, iva, spo, saa, mac, ast, ukn1, ass, aga, cyn, ukn6, eus, hth, opu, ukn12, ukn14, ses and avi to generate categorical column Species_Code and value column Plant_Presence, replicating values in column(s) Location, Date, Latitude, Longitude, Envir_Type and Salinity ('normalize_cols') 13-Dec-2007: manually edited data set metadata ('ui_editmetadata') 13-Dec-2007: descriptions of columns Species_Code and Plant_Presence edited; variable type of column Species_Code edited; Q/C flagging criteria of columns Species_Code and Plant_Presence edited ('ui_editor') 13-Dec-2007: Q/C flagging criteria applied for column(s) Species_Code and Plant_Presence, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 13-Dec-2007: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 13-Dec-2007: updated 66 metadata fields in the Data, Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('imp_gcemetadata') 13-Dec-2007: Q/C flagging criteria of columns Latitude, Longitude, Envir_Type and Salinity edited ('ui_editor') 13-Dec-2007: Q/C flagging criteria applied for column(s) Latitude, Longitude, Envir_Type and Salinity, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 13-Dec-2007: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 13-Dec-2007: updated 66 metadata fields in the Data, Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('imp_gcemetadata') 13-Dec-2007: sorted by columns Location(ascending), Species_Code(ascending) ('sortdata') 14-Dec-2007: manually edited data set metadata ('ui_editmetadata') 28-Mar-2008: deleted columns Latitude and Longitude from data structure ('ui_editor') 28-Mar-2008: added Longitude and Latitude columns by matching values in the Location column to entries in the GCE geographic database ('add_stationcoords') 28-Mar-2008: manually edited data set metadata ('ui_editmetadata') 28-Mar-2008: Q/C flagging criteria of column Location edited ('ui_editor') 28-Mar-2008: copied/reordered columns Location, Date, Longitude, Latitude, Envir_Type, Salinity, Species_Code and Plant_Presence ('copycols') 28-Mar-2008: Q/C flagging criteria applied for column(s) Location, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 28-Mar-2008: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 28-Mar-2008: updated 66 metadata fields in the Data, Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('imp_gcemetadata') 30-Mar-2008: units of columns Longitude and Latitude edited; descriptions of columns Longitude and Latitude edited ('ui_editor') 15-Nov-2011: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 15-Nov-2011: updated 57 metadata fields in the Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('imp_gcemetadata') 18-Nov-2011: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 18-Nov-2011: updated 57 metadata fields in the Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('imp_gcemetadata') 20-Jun-2013: converted dates in column(s) Date to format yyyy-mm-dd 20-Jun-2013: flags for column Salinity converted to data columns, flag codes updated in metadata ('flags2cols') 20-Jun-2013: updated 6 metadata fields in the Data sections ('addmeta') 20-Jun-2013: updated 15 metadata fields in the Status, Data sections to reflect attribute metadata ('updatecols') 20-Jun-2013: parsed and formatted metadata ('listmeta') B. Variable Information 1. Variable Name: column 1. Location column 2. Date column 3. Longitude column 4. Latitude column 5. Envir_Type column 6. Salinity column 7. Flag_Salinity column 8. Species_Code column 9. Plant_Presence 2. Variable Definition: column 1. Researcher-defined name of location surveyed column 2. Date of survey column 3. Geographic longitude of the survey location column 4. Geographic latitude of survey location column 5. Environment type surveyed column 6. Salinity of nearest body of water to survey location column 7. QA/QC flags for Salinity of nearest body of water to survey location (flagging criteria, where "x" is Salinity: x<0="I", x>37="Q") column 8. Plant species code column 9. Observations of plant species presence in study plots during the survey (0 = species not present, 1 = species present) 3. Units of Measurement: column 1. none column 2. yyyy-mm-dd column 3. degrees column 4. degrees column 5. none column 6. PSU column 7. none column 8. none column 9. none 4. Data Type a. Storage Type: column 1. alphanumeric column 2. alphanumeric column 3. floating-point column 4. floating-point column 5. alphanumeric column 6. floating-point column 7. alphanumeric column 8. alphanumeric column 9. integer b. Variable Codes: Envir_Type: mainland = Mainland, hammock = back-barrier island hammock, island = barrier island Species_Code: aga = Agalinis maritima, ass = Aster sp., ast = Aster tenuifolius, avi = Avicennia germinans, bac = Baccharis halimifolia, bat = Batis maritima, bor = Borrichia frutescens, cus = Cuscuta indecora, cyn = Cynanchum angustifolium, dst = Distichlis spicata, eus = Eustoma exaltatum, fbr = Fibristylis sp., hth = Helianthus annuus, iva = Iva frutescens, jnc = Juncus sp., jun = Juncus roemerianus, lil = Lilaeopsis, lim = Limonium carolinianum, lyc = Lycium carolinianum, mac = Machaeranthera phyllocephala (Rayjacksonia phyllocephala), mon = Monanthochloe littoralis, opu = Opuntia humifusa, saa = Sabatia arenicola, sab = Salicornia biglovii, sav = Salicornia virginica, sca = Scirpus americanus, scr = Scirpus robustus/maritimus, ses = Sesuvium portulacastrum, sol = Solidago sempervirens, spa = Spartina alterniflora, spb = Spartina bakeri, spc = Spartina cynosuroides, spo = Sporobolus virginicus, spp = Spartina patens, sps = Spartina spartinae, sua = Suaeda linearis, ukn1 = unknown, ukn6 = unknown, ukg = uknown grass, ukn9 = uknown, ukn10 = uknown, ukn12 = unknown, ukn14 = unknown c. Numeric Range: column 1. (none) column 2. (none) column 3. -97.2222 to -94.5102 column 4. 27.8668 to 29.5402 column 5. (none) column 6. 5 to 37 column 7. (none) column 8. (none) column 9. 0 to 1 d. Missing Value Code: 5. Data Format a. Column Type: column 1. text column 2. text column 3. numerical column 4. numerical column 5. text column 6. numerical column 7. text column 8. text column 9. numerical b. Number of Columns: 9 c. Decimal Places: column 1. 0 column 2. 0 column 3. 5 column 4. 5 column 5. 0 column 6. 0 column 7. 0 column 8. 0 column 9. 0 6. Logical Variable Type: column 1. nominal (none) column 2. datetime (none) column 3. geographic coordinate (continuous) column 4. geographic coordinate (continuous) column 5. coded value (none) column 6. data (continuous) column 7. coded value (none) column 8. coded value (none) column 9. logical (discrete) 7. Flagging Criteria: column 1. flag_locationcoords(x,col_Longitude,col_Latitude,0.5,"sensitive","gce_locations.mat")="Q " column 2. none column 3. x<-180="I", x>180="I" column 4. x<-90="I", x>90="I" column 5. flag_notinlist(x,"mainland,hammock,island")="Q" column 6. x<0="I", x>37="Q" column 7. none column 8. flag_notinlist(x,"aga,ass,ast,avi,bac,bat,bor,cus,cyn,dst,eus,fbr,hth,iva,jnc,jun,lil,li m,lyc,mac,mon,opu,saa,sab,sav,sca,scr,ses,sol,spa,spb,spc,spo,spp,sps,sua,ukn1,ukn6,ukg, ukn9,ukn10,ukn12,ukn14")="Q" column 9. x<0="I", x>1="I" C. Data Anomalies: GPS coordinates for sampling locations Fireworks, Fort_Travis, GISP_Boat_Ramp, GISP_Redfish_1, GISP_Redfish_2, GISP_Trout_Lane, Golf_Course were revised to correct typographic errors. V. Supplemental Descriptors A. Data Acquisition 1. Data Forms: Field data sheets 2. Form Location: Lab of Dr. Steven Pennings, University of Houston 3. Data Entry Validation: not specified B. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Procedures: QA/QC flags are generated automatically according to domain criteria specified for each data column. A flag column is generated and appended to the data table if any flags are assigned to any value, listing the flags for each column on each row. C. Supplemental Materials: none D. Computer Programs: Microsoft Excel, Statistix E. Archival Practices: Data sets and documentation are stored in structured binary (MATLAB 6.x files) and delimited ASCII text formats, and archived on magnetic tape and CD at the GCE LTER Information Management Office at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA 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