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Peat collapse and vegetation shift at Hickory Point

Metadata Updated: October 29, 2025

This work captures a multi-year progression from 2013 to 2021 of change in the height of the topographic surface and freshwater status of the rooting zone that may indicate impending vegetation transition. Two Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) in a tidal Taxodium distichum swamp at Hickory Point State Forest near Pocomoke City, Maryland were used to collect data on the height of the topographic surface established with respect to a local vertical datum. Annual root production over time was measured by collecting data on ingrowth into mesh root bags. Root bags were collected at 5 set locations within the study area and analyzed to determine the weight in grams of new root production per meter cubed each year. This project also uses data from a CTD DIver probe in a well located next to one of the SETs in the study site 48 cm below soil level. The data also documents the depth, salinity, and pH of the water as well as the vegetation found in the freshwater swamps of Hickory Point. In 2013 five Taxodium distichum trees along a 125 m long transect were outfitted with dendrobands. Each year the growth of the T. distichum trees was measured in terms of the ratio of that year's circumference to the previous year's circumference. Tree growth was measured until the year the tree died or the conclusion of the study in 2021. In November of 2021, the height, density, and species richness of all tree species were recorded in five plots along a 175 m transect. This data was divided into catagories depending on if the tree was alive, dead, or a sapling. Emergent species' height, density, and richness was also recorded.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 29, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 12, 2025
Metadata Updated Date October 29, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-63626cb9d34ebe442506b3b6
Data Last Modified 2022-11-16T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 5e6bc924-50a5-4797-adbe-48c2e36dfc06
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -75.6952, 37.9832, -75.5949, 38.0833
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash b24bba9f87f8cea3c92ae1c9ca5f5e0b09db4205874826a91f59e5c5939790ed
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -75.6952, 37.9832, -75.6952, 38.0833, -75.5949, 38.0833, -75.5949, 37.9832, -75.6952, 37.9832}

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