Mallee Plot Network: Herbivore Activity Data, Western New South Wales and South Australia, Australia, 2013

Title Plot set-up

Number 1

Instrument Global Positioning System, Compass, Tape Measures

Description Fifty-three experimental 0.2 hectare sites were established on dune crests and upper slopes in Tarawi Nature Reserve; Scotia Sanctuary and Danggali National Park during 1996 – 2011, of which 29 are located within Tarawi NR, with 16 in Scotia and eight in Danggali NR. These include four pilot sites established during 1996-1998, during which the design of herbivore exclosures were developed.

Title Grazing exclosure set-up

Number 2

Instrument Fencing Tools, Fencing Materials, Quad bikes/4WD for transport

Description Grazing exclosures were constructed at all sites except those in Dangalli CP and the Scotia Sanctuary sites burnt in 2009 and 2010. The latter site was within the Scotia Stage 1 fenced area from which goats and rabbits had been eliminated, kangaroos were at low densities and in which Bilbies, Numbats, Burrowing Bettongs and Bridled nail-tail wallabies had been introduced (Tony Cathcart, Australian Wildlife Conservancy, pers. comm.). The design of all exclosures constructed since year 2000 (inclusive) followed the layout in Figure 7.4.2. Each comprised five contiguous fenced cells 15 m square. Initially all five cells were closed to all vertebrate herbivores for approximately one year after their construction. The basic fence design comprised treated pine posts at each corner, four star pickets along each side with two droppers per panel between pickets supporting a 1.8 m tall sheep mesh wire fencing with chicken mesh covering the lower 0.6 m of vertical fall and turned outward at ground level to a further 0.6 m lateral apron. After being surveyed at the end of this period, the fences of respective cells were modified to allow selective access to different combinations of vertebrate herbivores as shown in Figure 7.4.3. One cell was retained in an unmodified state as a total exclusion treatment (None plot). In a second cell, the chicken wire mesh was removed from two sides, leaving a gap of 0.6 m beneath the sheep wire mesh and allowing access to macropods, goats and rabbits (All plot). In a third cell, the sheep mesh was removed from two sides leaving a 0.6 m tall chicken mesh fence, allowing access to macropods but not goats or rabbits (Kangaroo plot). In a fourth cell, the mesh apron was lifted and pinned to the fence, leaving a 10 cm gap at the base of the 1.8 m tall fence, allowing access to rabbits, but not macropods or goats (Rabbit plot). The fifth cell was designed to allow access to goats, but not macropods or rabbits (Goat plot). A wooden ramp 30 cm wide was constructed on the outside of the exclosure leading to a gap in the upper part of the fence 1.2 m above ground level in one corner of the plot. A similar ramp was constructed on the opposite corner of the cell, but with the ramp installed on the inside to allow exit from the cell. Subsequent scat counts indicated that neither goats, macropods or rabbits gained access to this cell, so that in practice Goat plots functioned as a second total exclusion treatment (cf. None plot). In addition, three external plots 13 m x 7.5 m were established outside and 7.5 m from the exclosure fence, where all vertebrate herbivores had continual access to the vegetation before and after burning treatment.
The standard exclosure layout was not followed at the four pilot sites established prior to year 2000.
T1996/1 had a single-celled exclosure comprising a 1.8 m fence with 0.6m ground apron to exclude all vertebrate herbivores (None plot). T1997/1, T1997/2 and T1998/CON1 comprised four cells as described above for the None, All, Kangaroo and Rabbit plots, except that all vertebrates were initially excluded using an electric fence constructed 2 m outside the perimeter of the exclosure fence and powered by 12-Volt batteries. The electric perimeter fences were dismantled 1.5 - 2.5 years after construction to allow access to respective herbivores.
Collectively, the experiment established a set of sites that represented a chronosequence of fire ages crossed with different grazing treatments and measured sequentially before and after implementation of the treatments. In addition to the sequence of three surveys carried out during establishment of the plots, an additional contemporaneous survey was carried out during spring 2011 - summer 2013 across all sites except those in Danggali CP. The sampling order was stratified by year of establishment and burn history.

Name kmle_herbivore_scats_p137t315.csv

Description

censusn	definition Sequential census number nominal text definition Character
emu	definition emu ratio number type real ratio standard unit number
freshgoat	definition Fresh Goat scats ratio number type whole ratio standard unit number
freshrabbit	definition Fresh Rabbit scats ratio number type whole ratio standard unit number
freshroo	definition Fresh Macropod scats ratio number type whole ratio standard unit number
oldgoat	definition Old Goat scats ratio number type whole ratio standard unit number
oldrabbit	definition Old Rabbit scats ratio number type whole ratio standard unit number
oldroo	definition Old Macropod scats ratio number type whole ratio standard unit number
sitelabel	definition Site identification number nominal text definition Character
subplotlabel	definition Sub-plot identification number nominal text definition Character

Date To

Date From 2013

Location Value Tarawi Nature Reserve; Scotia Sanctuary and Danggali National Park, Western New South Wales and South Australia, Australia

Location Type text

Location Value northlimit = -33.271362; southlimit = -33.467802; westlimit = 140.958503; eastLimit = 141.222776

Location Type iso19139dcmiBox

Surname Keith

Given Name David

Surname Simpson

Given Name Chris

Surname Wilkins

Given Name Katy

Surname Tozer

Given Name Mark

Surname Williams

Given Name Dick

Title Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) collection in ANU Open Research

URL https://hdl.handle.net/1885/130861