{"title":"Lake Suggs NEON - United States of America","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"ff8f509e-f06b-4d62-bd64-d53241fceee2"},"type":"site","created":"2020-05-25T09:36:50+02:00","changed":"2025-09-17T15:24:43+02:00","attributes":{"affiliation":{"networks":[{"network":{"name":"GERI","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"c3abdc60-49f1-49db-81fe-863b7dbb21d3"}},"siteCode":null,"verified":true},{"network":{"name":"NEON","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/networks\/","suffix":"fd9fbc88-0baa-4d02-b824-dc29f721782c"}},"siteCode":"SUGGS","verified":true}],"projects":null},"contact":{"siteManager":[{"type":"person","name":"Guy Fausnaught","email":"gfausnaught@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"operatingOrganisation":null,"metadataProvider":[{"type":"person","name":"Melissa Marquez","email":"marquez@battelleecology.org","orcid":null}],"fundingAgency":null,"siteUrl":[{"title":null,"value":"https:\/\/www.neonscience.org\/field-sites\/sugg"}]},"general":{"abstract":"Lake Suggs (SUGG) is an aquatic NEON field site located in Putman County, Florida about 20 miles east of Gainesville. It is part of the Ordway Swisher Biological Station (OSBS), a 38.5 km2 (9500 acre) property owned and managed by the University of Florida as a biological research center. Suggs Lake is 0.73 km2 (180 acres) in area. It is classified as a seepage lake dominated by groundwater flow with the local aquifer, but it is also fed by the local surface and subsurface flow through the wetland complex. The lake is situated on limestone geology overlain by a variable mixture of sand, gravel, clay, phosphate and carbonate sediments. The site is encompassed within the NEON Southeast Domain that is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The Domain features a patchwork of forest, grassland and wetland communities embedded in a matrix that is increasingly dominated by a fast-growing human population. The Domain hosts five other NEON field sites, including two additional aquatic and three terrestrial sites, located in Florida and Georgia. SUGG is colocated with the OSBS terrestrial field site. The Barco Lake (BARC) aquatic site is also located within OSBS.","citation":null,"relatedIdentifiers":null,"status":{"label":"Operational","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/elter_cl\/10772"},"yearEstablished":2014,"yearClosed":null,"relatedSites":[{"typeOfRelationship":{"label":"belongs to","uri":"null"},"listOfSites":[{"type":"site","title":"Ordway-Swisher Biological Station NEON - United States of America","id":{"prefix":"https:\/\/deims.org\/","suffix":"6de989a9-acb8-4a03-83f6-a9a43465152f"},"changed":"2025-09-18T14:02:45+0200"}]}],"siteName":"Lake Suggs NEON","shortName":"SUGGS ","siteType":"Stationary land-based site","protectionLevel":null,"landUse":null,"images":[{"url":"https:\/\/deims.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2020-06\/sugg.jpg","alt":"SUGG"}]},"environmentalCharacteristics":{"airTemperature":{"yearlyAverage":20.9,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"\u00b0C","referencePeriod":null},"precipitation":{"yearlyAverage":1308,"monthlyAverage":null,"unit":"mm","referencePeriod":null},"biogeographicalRegion":null,"biome":"freshwater_lakes","ecosystemType":[{"label":"Fresh Water Lakes","uri":null},{"label":"Lakes","uri":null}],"eunisHabitat":null,"landforms":null,"geoBonBiome":["Fresh water lakes","Terrestrial"],"geology":"The Ordway Preserve is located in the Northern Highlands portion of Putnam County, where it sits atop roughly 4000 feet of limestone, dolomite, and anhydrite formations. The Miocene-aged Hawthorn Group is overlain by the Cypresshead Formation which was laid down during the Pliocene and consists of sand, mud and clay. Above the Cypresshead Formation, belonging to the recent age, are the quartz sands recognizable as the soil of Ordway. They have many karst features and are often described as belonging to the Anastasia Formation.","hydrology":"Suggs Lake is a moderately nutrient rich and partially clear lake with an average secchi depth of 0.5 m and chlorophyll a content of 4 ug\/L. The lake water is turbid, with light penetrating through the first two feet of water surface. Suggs Lake is primarily surface water dominated, although it does interact with the regional aquifer to some extent. This lake lies within a greater flow-through wetland complex. Inflow lies on the southwest part of the lake with a smaller inflow from the eastern edge of the lake. Outflow is through the northwest part of the lake as part of the greater wetland complex. Fluctuation in the water table is between 1-1.5 m. Suggs Lake has a mean depth of 2.06 m (6.75 ft.) and a maximum depth of 3.23 m (10.6 ft.) and is isothermal (does not stratify). The lake is classified as acidic with a mean pH of 4.9. The 39.6 km2 (9,785 acre) watershed that encompasses Suggs Lake is replenished primarily by rainwater and overland flow inputs. Suggs Lake has a somewhat recognizable flow in from Lake Rowan and out towards Mill Creek Swamp and eventually Ross Lake. There is a gentle slope to the compacted sand banks with average angles of 160\u00b0 to 170\u00b0. The eight groundwater wells situated amongst the site\u0027s rolling hills sample depths of 9-18 m (30-60 ft.).","soils":"The bank and sediment of Suggs Lake are primarily compacted sand. The soils in the nearby OSBS terrestrial site are Entisol-order soils that are uncoated, Typic Quartzipsamments. These soils are primarily well-drained and sandy, but low-lying areas near lakes and swamps can have relatively deep layers of organic soils.","vegetation":"The dominant type of vegetation at Suggs Lake is a combination of evergreen forest and conifers. The riparian zone is dominated by red maple (Acer rubrum), tupelo (Nyssa sp.), pine (Pinus sp.), sweetgum (Liquidambar sp.), loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus (L.) Ellis), bald cypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.), and oak (Quercus sp.). The riparian areas have an extensive cover of emergent macrophyte vegetation (e.g., weedy plants). The southern and western edges of the lake are dominated by wetland vegetation."},"geographic":{"boundaries":null,"coordinates":"POINT (-82.01617 29.68705)","country":["United States of America"],"elevation":{"avg":32,"min":22,"max":49,"unit":"msl"},"size":{"value":210,"unit":"ha"},"relatedLocations":null},"focusDesignScale":{"experiments":{"design":"mainly experimentation","scale":"catchment scale"},"observations":{"design":"mainly observation","scale":"entire catchment"},"observedProperties":[{"label":"DNA sequence","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/21400"},{"label":"genetic parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20942"},{"label":"land cover","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22142"},{"label":"landscape parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20943"},{"label":"water parameter","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/20945"},{"label":"water quality","uri":"http:\/\/vocabs.lter-europe.net\/EnvThes\/22312"}]},"infrastructure":{"accessibleAllYear":true,"accessType":null,"allPartsAccessible":null,"maintenanceInterval":null,"permanentPowerSupply":true,"operation":{"permanent":true,"notes":null,"siteVisitInterval":null},"notes":null,"collection":null,"data":{"policy":{"url":null,"rights":null,"notes":null}}},"relatedResources":null,"projectRelated":{"lter":{"lterSiteClassification":null}}}}