Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network: Stag and Fire Severity Observations in Ash Forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia,1998–2011

Abstract: In 1998, 1129 large trees with cavities (i.e. both living and dead stags) were mapped and permanently marked at 156 field sites. Each stag was assigned one of nine tree forms or decay classes based on observable characteristics. Each time the trees were re-surveyed, an additional 3 hour reconnaissance was undertaken at each site to determine if any new cavity trees had been recruited since the previous survey. These data were used in the IUCN Red List of Ecosystem Assessment of Burns, E. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Stein, J., Blanchard, W., McBurney, L., Blair, D. & Banks, S. C. (2015). Ecosystem assessment of mountain ash forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia. Austral Ecology, http://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12200. The data were subsequently used in a case study as part of the Collaborative Environment for Ecosystem Science Research and Analysis (CoESRA) (see https://www.coesra.org.au). This is part of a much larger dataset that began in 1983 when the Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network research plots commenced. These data have been collected as part of an ongoing program to examine key relationships in different vegetation types; within and across different regions and in response to different kinds of disturbance and management regimes. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network’s full program is provided at http://doi.org/10.25911/5c4445118125d Project funding: This data was collected between 1998 and 2011 and was funded by Parks Victoria, Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and Australian Research Council Discovery program. Between 2012 and 2018 the Plot Network infrastructure was funded as part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN). LTERN is a Facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). TERN is supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Type
collection
Title
Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network: Stag and Fire Severity Observations in Ash Forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia,1998–2011
Alternate Title
Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network: Coesra Mountain Ash (Stags And Fire), 1998-2011
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Long Term Ecological Research Network
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/5c446058e33ab
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
In 1998, 1129 large trees with cavities (i.e. both living and dead stags) were mapped and permanently marked at 156 field sites. Each stag was assigned one of nine tree forms or decay classes based on observable characteristics. Each time the trees were re-surveyed, an additional 3 hour reconnaissance was undertaken at each site to determine if any new cavity trees had been recruited since the previous survey. These data were used in the IUCN Red List of Ecosystem Assessment of Burns, E. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Stein, J., Blanchard, W., McBurney, L., Blair, D. & Banks, S. C. (2015). Ecosystem assessment of mountain ash forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia. Austral Ecology, http://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12200. The data were subsequently used in a case study as part of the Collaborative Environment for Ecosystem Science Research and Analysis (CoESRA) (see https://www.coesra.org.au).
Full Description
Abstract: In 1998, 1129 large trees with cavities (i.e. both living and dead stags) were mapped and permanently marked at 156 field sites. Each stag was assigned one of nine tree forms or decay classes based on observable characteristics. Each time the trees were re-surveyed, an additional 3 hour reconnaissance was undertaken at each site to determine if any new cavity trees had been recruited since the previous survey. These data were used in the IUCN Red List of Ecosystem Assessment of Burns, E. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Stein, J., Blanchard, W., McBurney, L., Blair, D. & Banks, S. C. (2015). Ecosystem assessment of mountain ash forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia. Austral Ecology, http://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12200. The data were subsequently used in a case study as part of the Collaborative Environment for Ecosystem Science Research and Analysis (CoESRA) (see https://www.coesra.org.au). This is part of a much larger dataset that began in 1983 when the Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network research plots commenced. These data have been collected as part of an ongoing program to examine key relationships in different vegetation types; within and across different regions and in response to different kinds of disturbance and management regimes. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network’s full program is provided at http://doi.org/10.25911/5c4445118125d Project funding: This data was collected between 1998 and 2011 and was funded by Parks Victoria, Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment and Australian Research Council Discovery program. Between 2012 and 2018 the Plot Network infrastructure was funded as part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN). LTERN is a Facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). TERN is supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.
Methods
Plot set-up
1
The form of 1129 large trees with cavities was determined at 156 permanent 1 hectare field sites on a repeated basis in 1997, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Stag measurements
2
GPS and range finder
The stag attribute "form" was measured in 1997, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Trees were marked with a number both with spray paint and a small metal tag. Each time the trees were re-surveyed, an additional 3 hour reconnaissance in which all overstorey eucalypt trees on each site were inspected with binoculars as part of a detailed vegetation surveys on all field sites, to determine if any new cavity trees had been recruited since the previous survey. A compass and a rangefinder are used to map the layout of stags within each site. Trees were selected on the basis that they were viable (still standing) at 1998.
File Descriptions
stag_data_all_years_p626t921.csv
age_category
definitionRegeneration cohort age of mountain ash and alpine ash
ordinal enumeration codes
1Forest cover established (regenerated) prior to 1939 and remained unburned until 2009
2Forest cover established (regenerated) in 1939 and remained unburned until 2009
3Forest cover established (regenerated) in 1983 and remained unburned until 2009
fire_cat
definitionFire category
nominal enumeration codes
mmoderate
nunburnt
ssevere
form_num
definitionMountain Ash tree form
ordinal enumeration codes
1Mature living tree
2Mature living trees with a dead or broken top
3Dead tree with most branches still intact
4Dead tree with 0–25% of the top broken off; branches remaining as stubs only
5Dead tree with top 25–50% broken away
6Dead tree with top 50–75% broken away
7Solid dead tree with ≥75% of the top broken away
8Hollow stump
9Collapsed tree
init_form_num
definitionInitial Mountain Ash tree forms
ordinal enumeration codes
1Mature living tree
2Mature living trees with a dead or broken top
3Dead tree with most branches still intact
4Dead tree with 0–25% of the top broken off; branches remaining as stubs only
5Dead tree with top 25–50% broken away
6Dead tree with top 50–75% broken away
7Solid dead tree with ≥75% of the top broken away
8Hollow stump
9Collapsed tree
number of records5656
site
definitionSite code
nominal text definitionCharacter
survey_year_num
date time formatYYYY
definitionYear of survey
tree_code
definitionUnique code comprising site code and tree code
nominal text definitionCharacter
Contact Email
david.lindenmayer@anu.edu.au; david.keith@environment.nsw.gov.au; Laurence.berry@anu.edu.au; david.keith@unsw.edu.au; davoblair@nex.net.au
Contact Address
Fenner School of Environment & Society ANU College of Medicine, Biology & Environment Frank Fenner Building 141 Linnaeus Way CANBERRA, ACT, 0200 Australia
Contact Phone Number
+61 2 6125 0654; +61 439 660 996; +61 2 9995 5000; +61 2 6125 7653; +61 427 770 593; +61 2 9385 2111; +61 427 856 498
Contact Fax Number
+61 2 6125 0746
Principal Investigator
David Lindenmayer
Supervisors
David Lindenmayer
Collaborators
Lachlan McBurney; David Blair
Fields of Research
0501 - Ecological Applications; 0502 - Environmental Science and Management; 0602 - Ecology; 0705 - Forestry Sciences
Keywords
GCMD:Earth Science>Biosphere>Vegetation>Forest Composition/Vegetation Structure; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Vegetation structure; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Fire; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Logging forestry; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Fragmentation; keyword:Stag; keyword:Logging; keyword:Fire; keyword:Tree cavity; Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest; Coesra Mountain Ash (Stags And Fire)
Type of Research Activity
Strategic basic research
Date Coverage
2011
1998
Geospatial Location
Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia
text
northlimit = -37.342523; southlimit = -37.919069; westlimit = 145.477922; eastLimit = 146.195374
iso19139dcmiBox
Date of data creation
2016-09-09
Year of data publication
2016
Creator(s) for Citation
Lindenmayer
David
Blair
David
Keith
David
McBurney
Lachlan
Berry
Laurence
Publisher for Citation
Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN), ANU Data Commons, The Australian National University
Publications
10.1111/aec.12200
Burns, E. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Stein, J., Blanchard, W., McBurney, L., Blair, D. & Banks, S. C. (2015). Ecosystem assessment of mountain ash forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia. Austral Ecology, http://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12200.
Ecosystem assessment of mountain ash forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia
doi
Related Websites
ANU Open Research. Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) collection.
https://hdl.handle.net/1885/130861
Other Related Identifiers
MorphoId:ltern2.1055; PackageId:626
Access Rights
Data collected prior to 2012 is to be published with mediated access. Co-authorship with the data provider (Professor David Lindenmayer) of any publication of research utilising this data is an expected outcome. The data provider requests consultation, including a summary of the proposed research and intended use, before publication of research utilising this data is possible.
Access Rights Type
Restricted
Rights held in and over the data
AusGoal Restrictive Licence - This licence has been developed specifically for material that may contain personal or other confidential information. It may also be used for other reasons, including material to be licenced under some form of limiting or restrictive condition
Licence Type
AusGoalRestrictive - AusGoal Restrictive Licence
Licence
LTERN Deed: 48 Date of execution: 2017-07-10
Retention Period
Indefinitely
Data Management Plan
No
Status: Published
Published to:
  • Australian National University
  • Australian National Data Service
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