Woodland Restoration Plot Network: Vegetation Structure and Composition Data, Western Sydney Parklands (Western Sydney Regional Park), Australia, 2012
Abstract: The Woodland Restoration Plot Network Vegetation Structure and Composition Data Package contains vegetation floristics and structure survey data for thirty-six 0.1 hectare sites which were established on retired farmland that includes a mosaic of restored vegetation (native plantings) of varying ages juxtaposed with patches of remnant vegetation and untreated, abandoned pasture. All sites were originally woodland prior to agricultural development about 200 years ago. The Woodland Restoration Plot Network research plots commenced in 1992 and have been revisited every 3-4 years since 2001.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Woodland Restoration Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c36e5688ff89.
Sampling method: The restoration process was initiated with exclusion of livestock and weed control (J. Christie, Greening Australia, pers. comm.). All sites were slashed and sprayed with glyphosate before planting was undertaken. Twenty-six indigenous trees and shrub species, propagated to tubestock from local seed sources, were planted mechanically in rows after the pasture began to break down. The mix of planted species varied across the landscape, the aim being to match species with soils and topographic positions occupied by their wild populations. All plants were weed matted with a recycled paper disc and surrounded by a protective plastic sleeve. Maintenance sprays of glyphosate were applied in spring and autumn for two-three years after planting to reduce competition from weeds in the vicinity of plants. To reduce the risk of fire, mechanical slashing was carried out amongst the plantings and hazard reduction fires were lit in areas surrounding plantings at approximately annual intervals. Since the late 1990s, cattle have beenreintroduced into the southern areas of plantings, but fencing has been constructed to exclude livestock from some restoration areas and remnants (D. Williams, Greening Australia, pers. comm.). Cattle continue to be excluded from the northern areas of plantings. The study landscape therefore comprises a mosaic of patches including untreated pastures, remnant woodlands with various histories of past disturbance and a chronosequence of restoration plantings with dates of origin from 1992 to 2002. The aims of the study design were to sample management treatments (untreated pasture, the chronosequence of restored vegetation and remnant woodland) across locations within Western Sydney Regional Park and Prospect Reservoir. A fully randomised factorial sampling design was not possible because all management treatments were not represented randomly across the study area. Sample sites representing different management treatments were therefore situated haphazardly within patches, to sample areas with different management histories on similar topography (upper and mid slopes). The first set of vegetation surveys were carried out in 2001 (25 sites), with repeat surveys of new haphazardly selected sites to sample the same patch types in 2004 (52 sites), 2006 (20 sites) and 2012 (36 sites). The total number of sites varied between surveys depending on available resources, but the proportional stratification among patch types and ages remained the same. Invertebrates were sampled at these sites in late 2002 and 2009. Soils were sampled in 2010 by collaborators at UWS. A survey of avifauna commenced in 2013.
Study extent: The study site is located on retired farmland that includes a mosaic of restored vegetation (native plantings) of varying ages juxtaposed with patches of remnant vegetation and untreated, pasture (both grazed and abandoned). During their period of pastoral management (prior to 1990), the sites have been grazed by cattle, fertilised and planted with exotic pasture grasses, particularly Phalaris species. All sites were originally woodland prior to agricultural development about 200 years ago. Restoration projects commenced in the area in 1992 with a stated goal of ‘re-establishment of native vegetation’ (Perkins 1997). The restoration plantings were carried out in a pattern designed to connect remnant patches of woodland, which were also the primary sources of seed for tubestock. To evaluate success against the above goal, we therefore identified the remnants as suitable reference sites to which the restored sites were expected to increase their resemblance in composition and structure over time. Disturbance resulting from past agricultural practices in the area have impacted upon remnant patches to varying degrees, but these were the best available examples of native woodland in the region. Untreated pasture is defined as a control, from which restored sites are expected to become increasinglydissimilar in species composition and vegetation structure with time.
Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Type
collection
Title
Woodland Restoration Plot Network: Vegetation Structure and Composition Data, Western Sydney Parklands (Western Sydney Regional Park), Australia, 2012
Alternate Title
Woodland Restoration Plot Network: Vegetation Structure And Composition Data, 2012
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Long Term Ecological Research Network
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/5c3bfe825b5d1
Website Address
https://datacommons.anu.edu.au/
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
The Woodland Restoration Plot Network Vegetation Structure and Composition Data Package contains vegetation floristics and structure survey data for thirty-six 0.1 hectare sites which were established on retired farmland that includes a mosaic of restored vegetation (native plantings) of varying ages juxtaposed with patches of remnant vegetation and untreated, abandoned pasture. All sites were originally woodland prior to agricultural development about 200 years ago. The Woodland Restoration Plot Network research plots commenced in 1992 and have been revisited every 3-4 years since 2001. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Woodland Restoration Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c36e5688ff89.
Full Description
Abstract: The Woodland Restoration Plot Network Vegetation Structure and Composition Data Package contains vegetation floristics and structure survey data for thirty-six 0.1 hectare sites which were established on retired farmland that includes a mosaic of restored vegetation (native plantings) of varying ages juxtaposed with patches of remnant vegetation and untreated, abandoned pasture. All sites were originally woodland prior to agricultural development about 200 years ago. The Woodland Restoration Plot Network research plots commenced in 1992 and have been revisited every 3-4 years since 2001.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Woodland Restoration Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c36e5688ff89.
Sampling method: The restoration process was initiated with exclusion of livestock and weed control (J. Christie, Greening Australia, pers. comm.). All sites were slashed and sprayed with glyphosate before planting was undertaken. Twenty-six indigenous trees and shrub species, propagated to tubestock from local seed sources, were planted mechanically in rows after the pasture began to break down. The mix of planted species varied across the landscape, the aim being to match species with soils and topographic positions occupied by their wild populations. All plants were weed matted with a recycled paper disc and surrounded by a protective plastic sleeve. Maintenance sprays of glyphosate were applied in spring and autumn for two-three years after planting to reduce competition from weeds in the vicinity of plants. To reduce the risk of fire, mechanical slashing was carried out amongst the plantings and hazard reduction fires were lit in areas surrounding plantings at approximately annual intervals. Since the late 1990s, cattle have beenreintroduced into the southern areas of plantings, but fencing has been constructed to exclude livestock from some restoration areas and remnants (D. Williams, Greening Australia, pers. comm.). Cattle continue to be excluded from the northern areas of plantings. The study landscape therefore comprises a mosaic of patches including untreated pastures, remnant woodlands with various histories of past disturbance and a chronosequence of restoration plantings with dates of origin from 1992 to 2002. The aims of the study design were to sample management treatments (untreated pasture, the chronosequence of restored vegetation and remnant woodland) across locations within Western Sydney Regional Park and Prospect Reservoir. A fully randomised factorial sampling design was not possible because all management treatments were not represented randomly across the study area. Sample sites representing different management treatments were therefore situated haphazardly within patches, to sample areas with different management histories on similar topography (upper and mid slopes). The first set of vegetation surveys were carried out in 2001 (25 sites), with repeat surveys of new haphazardly selected sites to sample the same patch types in 2004 (52 sites), 2006 (20 sites) and 2012 (36 sites). The total number of sites varied between surveys depending on available resources, but the proportional stratification among patch types and ages remained the same. Invertebrates were sampled at these sites in late 2002 and 2009. Soils were sampled in 2010 by collaborators at UWS. A survey of avifauna commenced in 2013.
Study extent: The study site is located on retired farmland that includes a mosaic of restored vegetation (native plantings) of varying ages juxtaposed with patches of remnant vegetation and untreated, pasture (both grazed and abandoned). During their period of pastoral management (prior to 1990), the sites have been grazed by cattle, fertilised and planted with exotic pasture grasses, particularly Phalaris species. All sites were originally woodland prior to agricultural development about 200 years ago. Restoration projects commenced in the area in 1992 with a stated goal of ‘re-establishment of native vegetation’ (Perkins 1997). The restoration plantings were carried out in a pattern designed to connect remnant patches of woodland, which were also the primary sources of seed for tubestock. To evaluate success against the above goal, we therefore identified the remnants as suitable reference sites to which the restored sites were expected to increase their resemblance in composition and structure over time. Disturbance resulting from past agricultural practices in the area have impacted upon remnant patches to varying degrees, but these were the best available examples of native woodland in the region. Untreated pasture is defined as a control, from which restored sites are expected to become increasinglydissimilar in species composition and vegetation structure with time.
Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Methods
Plot set-up
1
Star pickets (3 per site), 3x50m measuring tapes, clinometer, mallet, site tag for permanent identification.
Thirty-six 0.1 hectare sites were established on retired farmland that includes a mosaic of restored vegetation (native plantings) of varying ages juxtaposed with patches of remnant vegetation and untreated, abandoned pasture. All sites were originally woodland prior to agricultural development about 200 years ago. This is part of a larger dataset that spans from 1992.
Vegetation survey
2
Plant species composition is recorded using the frequency score method (Wilkins et al. 2003), in which complete species lists are compiled in each of six nested square subquadrats. Subquadrat dimensions are successively doubled from 1 m to 2 m, 4 m, 8 m, 16 m, and 32 m. All six subplots have a common corner marked with a star picket. Only species rooted in the additional area of each subplot are recorded (i.e. excluding records from smaller nested subplots). A frequency score is computed for each species by counting the number of sub-quadrats in which it occurred. Planted and wild occurrences of the same species are recorded separately. A species list with Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance estimates (8-point scale) was recorded in an additional 20 x 20 m plot inserted >within the nested sequence of subplots (see Tozer et al. (2010) for sampling methods). Average height and cover of each vegetation stratum are visually estimated to assess vegetation structure, averaged from the four quadrants of each 20 x 20 m plot. Percentage cover of bare ground and leaf litter, and environmental co-variables including aspect, slope, soil texture and grid location are also recorded in the 20 x 20 m plot.
The Woodland Restoration Plot Network research plots commenced in 1992 and have been revisited every 3-4 years since 2001.
File Descriptions
kwrt_vegetation_structure_2011-2013_p100t323.csv
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| number of records | 210 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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kwrt_vegetation_composition_20x20m_subplot_2011-2013_p100t170.csv
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| number of records | 1613 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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kwrt_vegetation_composition_nested_subplot_PA_2011-2013_p100t613.csv
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| number of records | 5146 | ||||||||||||||
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kwrt_vegetation_composition_planted_20x20_subplot_2011-2013_p100t614.csv
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| number of records | 130 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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kwrt_vegetation_composition_planted_nested_subplot_PA_2011-2013_p100t918.csv
| assign_flora_descriptor |
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| assign_species_code |
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| flora_descriptor |
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| number of records | 336 | ||||||||||||||||||
| origin |
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Contact Email
david.keith@environment.nsw.gov.au;
christopher.simpson@unsw.edu.au;
k.wilkins@unsw.edu.au;
mark.tozer@environment.nsw.gov.au;
r.woodward@unsw.edu.au;
david.keith@unsw.edu.au
Contact Address
Australian Wetlands, Rivers and Landscapes Centre,
School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences,
University of New South Wales
SYDNEY, NSW, 2052
Australia
Contact Phone Number
+61 2 9995 5000;
+61 409 159 334;
+61 2 9385 8435;
+61 2 9585 6496;
+61 2 9585 6051;
+61 2 9385 2111;
+61 427 856 498;
+61 428 810 214
Principal Investigator
David Keith
Supervisors
David Keith
Collaborators
David Kirkland;
Dick Williams
Fields of Research
0501 - Ecological Applications;
0602 - Ecology
Keywords
GCMD:Earth Science > Biosphere > Vegetation;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Vegetation structure;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species composition;
Woodland Restoration;
Vegetation Structure And Composition Data
Type of Research Activity
Pure basic research
Date Coverage
2012
Geospatial Location
Western Sydney Parklands (Western Sydney Regional Park) and Prospect Reservoir are situated approximately 30 km west of Sydney, and extend over an area of nearly 5,280 hectares.
text
northlimit = -33.80273; southlimit = -33.909898; westlimit = 150.810459; eastLimit = 150.915226
iso19139dcmiBox
Date of data creation
2014-12-11
Year of data publication
2014
Creator(s) for Citation
Keith
David
Simpson
Chris
Wilkins
Katy
Tozer
Mark
Williams
Dick
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Publications
See: Perkins I. 1997. Hoxton Park Corridor (North) Land and Vegetation Management Plan. Unpublished report. The NSW Department of Urban Affairs and Planning & Greening Australia (NSW), Sydney.
Hoxton Park Corridor (North) Land and Vegetation Management Plan.
https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/getmedia/b4f021cf-86e9-4eca-8f2e-058a7e574a3a/Volume-11(3)-2010-Cun113Toz359-406.pdf.aspx
Tozer MG, Turner K, Keith DA, Tindall D, Pennay C, Simpson C, MacKenzie B, Beukers P, Cox S (2010) Native vegetation of southeast NSW: a revised classification and map for the coast and eastern tablelands. Cunninghamia 11(3), 359-406, https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/getmedia/b4f021cf-86e9-4eca-8f2e-058a7e574a3a/Volume-11(3)-2010-Cun113Toz359-406.pdf.aspx
Native vegetation of southeast NSW: a revised classification and map for the coast and eastern tablelands.
uri
10.1046/j.1526-100X.2003.rec0244.x
Wilkins, S, Keith D.A, Adam P (2003). "Measuring Success: Evaluating the Restoration of a Grassy Eucalypt Woodland on the Cumberland Plain, Sydney, Australia." Restoration Ecology 11(4): 489-503, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-100X.2003.rec0244.x
Measuring Success: Evaluating the Restoration of a Grassy Eucalypt Woodland on the Cumberland Plain, Sydney, Australia
doi
Other Related Identifiers
MorphoId:ltern2.276;
PackageId:100
Access Rights
Special Conditions: Prior to publication of research utilising this data, the data provider (David Keith) requests consultation.
Access Rights Type
Open
Rights held in and over the data
Creative Commons Licence (CC BY- Attribution) is assigned to this data. Details of the licence can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Licence Type
CC-BY - Attribution (Version 4)
Licence
LTERN Deed: 13
Date of execution: 2014-04-30
Data Location
https://datacommons.anu.edu.au
Retention Period
Indefinitely
Data Management Plan
No
Status: Published
Published to:
Published to:
- Australian National University
- Australian National Data Service
Related items
- hasAssociationWith:
Woodland Restoration Plot Network: Sydney Basin data packages, 1992-2018 [anudc:5558] - hasAssociationWith:
David Keith [anudc:5578] - hasAssociationWith:
David Kirkland [anudc:5579] - hasAssociationWith:
Dick Williams [anudc:5581]