Desert Uplands Plot Network: Vegetation Survey (Presence Data, Species Richness and Stem and Hollow Counts), Northern Queensland, Australia, 2013
Abstract: The LTERN Desert Uplands Plot Network Vegetation Survey data contains presence data, species richness data and structural data for 50 permanent 1 hectare plots in Northern Queensland, Australia. This package contains data collected in 2013, a subset of a much larger dataset stretching from 2004 to 2016. The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. The Desert Uplands research plots commenced in 2004, and have been revisited in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Desert Uplands Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c343f9e98336.
Sampling method: The specific location of the 1 ha survey sites were selected on the basis that they were situated in large contiguous areas that were considered typical or characteristic of the respective vegetation management strategy. Within each property, sites are generally a minimum of 1km apart but may be within 500 m of one another in some cases.
Sites are located a minimum of 500m from any water point, commonly 50-100 m from the nearest access track and that the demarcation used for site selection within the “Unmodified vegetation management” class (30-45% vs. 45-60% canopy cover), was made using crown canopy mapping based on 1996 1:250 000 aerial photography. Sites are broadly situated within the same broad Ironbark woodland community (Eucalyptus whitei, E. melanophloia). Two Queensland land zones are mapped across the four properties with sandy plains and alluvial systems each represented by two properties.
One of the leaseholders (with five thinned and five unmodified sites), withdrew from the study following the July 2008 survey leaving 50 sites distributed across three leasehold properties remaining in the study.
Study extent: These plots have been visited four times so far – June 2004, May 2005, August 2006, July 2008 (all 60 plots), and June-July 2013 (50 plots).
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
Desert Uplands Plot Network: Vegetation Survey (Presence Data, Species Richness and Stem and Hollow Counts), Northern Queensland, Australia, 2013
Alternate Title
Desert Uplands Plot Network: Vegetation Surveys, 2013
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Long Term Ecological Research Network
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/5c3d54e161c23
Website Address
https://datacommons.anu.edu.au/
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
The LTERN Desert Uplands Plot Network Vegetation Survey data contains presence data, species richness data and structural data for 50 permanent 1 hectare plots in Northern Queensland, Australia. This package contains data collected in 2013, a subset of a much larger dataset stretching from 2004 to 2016. The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. The Desert Uplands research plots commenced in 2004, and have been revisited in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Desert Uplands Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c343f9e98336.
Full Description
Abstract: The LTERN Desert Uplands Plot Network Vegetation Survey data contains presence data, species richness data and structural data for 50 permanent 1 hectare plots in Northern Queensland, Australia. This package contains data collected in 2013, a subset of a much larger dataset stretching from 2004 to 2016. The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are removed); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred. The Desert Uplands research plots commenced in 2004, and have been revisited in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Desert Uplands Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c343f9e98336.
Sampling method: The specific location of the 1 ha survey sites were selected on the basis that they were situated in large contiguous areas that were considered typical or characteristic of the respective vegetation management strategy. Within each property, sites are generally a minimum of 1km apart but may be within 500 m of one another in some cases.
Sites are located a minimum of 500m from any water point, commonly 50-100 m from the nearest access track and that the demarcation used for site selection within the “Unmodified vegetation management” class (30-45% vs. 45-60% canopy cover), was made using crown canopy mapping based on 1996 1:250 000 aerial photography. Sites are broadly situated within the same broad Ironbark woodland community (Eucalyptus whitei, E. melanophloia). Two Queensland land zones are mapped across the four properties with sandy plains and alluvial systems each represented by two properties.
One of the leaseholders (with five thinned and five unmodified sites), withdrew from the study following the July 2008 survey leaving 50 sites distributed across three leasehold properties remaining in the study.
Study extent: These plots have been visited four times so far – June 2004, May 2005, August 2006, July 2008 (all 60 plots), and June-July 2013 (50 plots).
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
Vegetation Survey
1
None provided
The CSIRO permanent plots are situated in Tropical Ironbark Woodlands, and extend across four leasehold cattle properties that lie within an area approximately 50 km by 50 km. The plots represent three vegetation management strategies, namely: 1) clearing (where all trees and shrubs are pulled); 2) thinning (where ground and midstorey vegetation is removed); and 3) unmodified native woodlands where significant thinning or clearing has not occurred.Vegetation composition and structure is recorded across each 1 ha in a series of nested quadrats and transects. Within five 1x1 m quadrats located along a central 100 transect the following ground cover elements are visually estimated:
- native perennial grasses (increaser and decreaser species)
- native perennial hummock grasses
- native perennial herbs and forbs
- native shrubs
- exotic grasses, herbs and forbs
- litter, rock and bare ground
Number of fallen logs (minimum dimensions 50 cm x 10 cm) is recorded across the central 50 x 10 m belt transect. Along a central 100 x 10 m belt transect, tree and shrub species counts are made within the following DBH diameter classes: <10 cm, 10-20 cm, 21-30 cm, 31-40 cm, 41-50 cm and > 51 cm and, additionally, whether tree hollows are present in the individual. Species richness for shrubs and trees is calculated from data collected within the 100 x 10 m belt transect.
Tree and shrub canopy cover is estimated along the central 100 m transect using line intercepts and allowing no overlap between layers. For trees canopy cover is recorded for three canopy strata, T1,
T2 and T3 with T1 representing the top canopy level and associated cohorts, with T2 and T3 representing successively lower sub-canopy levels. Average canopy height for each of the four classes (Shrubs (S), T1, T2, T3) is recorded from the central 100 x 50 m sector of the 1 ha plot.
Other factors recorded at the sites include: basal area (at 50 m point), and ordinal scores for time since fire (0 =<1 year, 1=1-3 years, 2=3-10 years and 3=>10 years), and weeds, grazing impact and erosion (0=none to 3=severe for these three factors).
- native perennial grasses (increaser and decreaser species)
- native perennial hummock grasses
- native perennial herbs and forbs
- native shrubs
- exotic grasses, herbs and forbs
- litter, rock and bare ground
Number of fallen logs (minimum dimensions 50 cm x 10 cm) is recorded across the central 50 x 10 m belt transect. Along a central 100 x 10 m belt transect, tree and shrub species counts are made within the following DBH diameter classes: <10 cm, 10-20 cm, 21-30 cm, 31-40 cm, 41-50 cm and > 51 cm and, additionally, whether tree hollows are present in the individual. Species richness for shrubs and trees is calculated from data collected within the 100 x 10 m belt transect.
Tree and shrub canopy cover is estimated along the central 100 m transect using line intercepts and allowing no overlap between layers. For trees canopy cover is recorded for three canopy strata, T1,
T2 and T3 with T1 representing the top canopy level and associated cohorts, with T2 and T3 representing successively lower sub-canopy levels. Average canopy height for each of the four classes (Shrubs (S), T1, T2, T3) is recorded from the central 100 x 50 m sector of the 1 ha plot.
Other factors recorded at the sites include: basal area (at 50 m point), and ordinal scores for time since fire (0 =<1 year, 1=1-3 years, 2=3-10 years and 3=>10 years), and weeds, grazing impact and erosion (0=none to 3=severe for these three factors).
File Descriptions
mdup_vegetation_presence_p171t576.csv
| quadrat_inc |
| ||||||||
| value |
| ||||||||
| variable |
|
mdup_vegetation_richness_p171t586.csv
| grass_richness |
| ||||||
| herb_and_forb_richness |
| ||||||
| plot_direction |
| ||||||
| quadrat_inc |
| ||||||
| shrub_richness |
| ||||||
| total_plant_richness |
| ||||||
| tree_richness |
|
mdup_vegetation_stem_and_hollow_counts_p171t587.csv
| diameter_range |
| ||||||
| flora_descriptor |
| ||||||
| hollow |
| ||||||
| quadrat_inc |
| ||||||
| value |
|
mdup_vegetation_shrub_stems_p171t588.csv
| flora_descriptor |
| ||||||
| quadrat_inc |
| ||||||
| shrubs |
|
Contact Email
dan.metcalfe@csiro.au
Contact Address
CSIRO
41 Boggo Road
Dutton Park, QLD, 4102
Australia
Contact Phone Number
+61 7 3833 5529;
+61 427 766 704
Principal Investigator
Dan Metcalfe
Supervisors
Dan Metcalfe
Collaborators
Chris Pavey;
Eric Vanderduys
Fields of Research
0501 - Ecological Applications;
0602 - Ecology
Keywords
GCMD:Biological Classification > Plants;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Vegetation structure;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species composition;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species abundance;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Individual plants;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Grazing domestic livestock;
keyword:disturbance;
keyword:stem counts;
keyword:permanent plot;
keyword:hollows;
keyword:Tropical Ironbark Woodlands;
Desert Uplands;
Vegetation Surveys
Type of Research Activity
Strategic basic research
Date Coverage
2013
Geospatial Location
Northern Queensland, Australia
text
northlimit = -20.762424; southlimit = -21.235266; westlimit = 144.688969; eastLimit = 145.191784
iso19139dcmiBox
Date of data creation
2014-09-05
Year of data publication
2014
Creator(s) for Citation
Metcalfe
Daniel
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Other Related Identifiers
MorphoId:ltern2.143;
PackageId:171
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: 21
Date of execution: 2014-08-08
Restrictions: To mitigate risks associated with threatened species, LTERN's Policy is to mediate access to spatial data. As such, data publications under these Deeds will be divided into tables containing observation records which will be published open access and spatial data which will be mediated.
Data Location
ttps://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:
Desert Uplands Plot Network: Northern Desert Uplands of Queensland data packages, 2004-2018 [anudc:5548] - hasAssociationWith:
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation [anudc:5631] - hasAssociationWith:
Chris Pavey [anudc:5571] - hasAssociationWith:
Daniel Metcalfe [anudc:5576] - hasAssociationWith:
Eric Vanderduys [anudc:5586]