Abstract:

Total height and total dry mass of all live and dead stems of Spartina alterniflora were determined from one plot and individual stem heights from two additional plots at seven Louisiana salt marshes. Sampling began in May 2013 at two marshes in Cocodrie, LA (Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium-LUMCON) and in two regions of Terrebonne Bay: Bay LaFleur and Lake Barre. A third LUMCON area marsh was added in June 2014. All LUMCON sites were sampled monthly through 2014 whereas the 4 Terrebonne Bay marshes were sampled less frequently. This dataset is used in the publication: ​Hill T.D. & Roberts B.J. 2017. Effects of seasonality and environmental gradients on Spartina alterniflora allometry and primary production. Ecology and Evolution, 7(22): 9676-9688. DOI:10.1002/ece3.3494.

Suggested Citation:

Roberts, Brian J.. 2017. Individual plant stem data in Terrebonne Bay and LUMCON area salt marshes, 2013-2014. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N72V2D1T

Publications:

Hill, T. D., & Roberts, B. J. (2017). Effects of seasonality and environmental gradients on Spartina alterniflora allometry and primary production. Ecology and Evolution. doi:10.1002/ece3.3494

Purpose:

This dataset was developed as part of a research project investigating the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on salt marsh biogeochemistry. This component of the CWC research effort focused on determining temporal and spatial patterns in Spartina alterniflora allometry so that non-destructive sampling can be used for future monitoring efforts.

Data Parameters and Units:

Year—Year of sampling Month-name—Month of sampling Month-number—Month of sampling (1= Jan, 2 = Feb, etc.) Region—Region of collection (TB- Terrebonne Bay or LUMCON) Site—Site identifier Latitude (decimal degrees) Longitude (decimal degrees) Distance from marsh edge (m—Location where plots located on marsh Plot—Plot sampled (A=clip plot where stem heights and weights measured; B and C = non-destructively sampled plots with only stem heights measured) ID number—internal reference number for individual stems sampled from clip plots (Plot A); (NA=not applicable for plots B and C where sampling was non-destructive) Status (live/dead)—indicates whether stem was live or dead when measured Total height (cm)—Height of measured plant stem Total mass (g)—Dry mass of individual plant (includes stem and leaves;measured for plot A only) Stem mass (g)—Dry mass of individual stem only (if stem separated from leaves) Leaf mass (g)—Dry mass of leaves of individual stem only (if leaves separated from stem) Flowering (1 = flowering)—indicates whether stem was flowering (1) or not (blank) Flower length (cm)—Length of flower if present and measured Flower mass (g)—Dry mass of flower if present and measured ND=No data

Individual Files: