Tropical Rainforest Plot Network: Understorey Floristic Data, Northern Queensland, Australia, 1972-2016
Abstract: The Tropical Rainforest Plot Network Rainforest Understorey Floristic Data contains understorey floristic data from all 20 of its 0.5 ha (100 m x 50 m) permanent rainforest plots in Northern Queensland, Australia. Data was collected for all plots at the time of establishment before 1981 and data was again collected for half of the plots post-2000.
The CSIRO permanent rainforest plots are located within 60 km of the north Queensland coast between Mackay (21.5ºS, 149ºE) and the Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula (12.5ºS, 143ºE). The plots have a rainfall range of 1200 to 3500 mm, represent eleven vegetation types, six parent materials, and range from 15 m to 1200 m above sea level. Except for minor disturbances associated with selective logging on two plots, the plots were established in old growth forest and all plots have thereafter been protected. In conjunction with the Tree Demographic Data packages which have been collected by the Tropical Rainforest Plot Network, the data collected from these 20 plots provides an insight into the floristical composition, structure and long term forest dynamics of Australian tropical rainforests and allows direct comparisons to be made with long-term monitoring plots at a global scale.
For further background data please refer to Bradford, M.G., Murphy, H.T., Ford, A.J., Hogan, D. and Metcalfe, D.J. (2014) "Long-term stem inventory data from tropical rain forest plots in Australia", Ecology, 95(8): 2362. Ecological Archives E095-209-D1, https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0458R.1.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Tropical Rainforest Plot Network’s full program is provided at hhttps://doi.org/10.25911/5c3c249fbe8ee..
Data between 1971 and 2013 can be also be sourced from CSIRO Data Access Portal at http://doi.org/10.4225/08/59475c67be7a4.
Sampling method: The 20 CSIRO permanent plots were opportunistically located ahead of logging operations or in areas of no or minor recent disturbance (EP9 and EP38 showed evidence of slight disturbance in a section of the plot due to selective logging at least 20 years prior to establishment). Where possible, plots were located to represent the major forests and geologies of North Queensland. All plots were surveyed to enclose a projected plan view area of 0.5 ha (100 m x 50 m) with plot boundary distances corrected for slope. The resulting plot areas are presented in Table 2.
Plot boundaries were surveyed with prismatic compasses, 50 m steel survey band and Abney level. The four plot corners were initially marked with treated wooden pegs and subsequently replaced with steel pickets. All plots were subdivided into 16 subplots (A to P), each 25 m x 12.5 m with permanent wooden subplot markers. A 20 m buffer area around each plot was established to exclude future human disturbance. A canopy tower was located adjacent to both EP4 and EP33 from establishment until 2005 and focussed on canopy sampling and photosynthetic studies. Data from the towers is not included in this data package, but have been included in associated publications.
The plots were established between 1971 and 1980 and were initially censused every two years until 1991, and at intervals of 2-15 years thereafter.
Species References:
- Bostock, P. D., and A. E. Holland (2010). Census of the Queensland flora 2010. Toowoong: Queensland Herbarium.
- Henderson, R.J.F. (ed) (2002). Names and distribution of Queensland plants, algae and lichens. Toowoong: Queensland Herbarium.
Study extent: The study was conducted in the rainforests of North Queensland, Australia between Mackay 21.5ºS, 149ºE and the Iron Range 12.5ºS, 143ºE.
The plots span much of the geographical variation in environmental gradients across the study area and represent eleven moist humid tropical vegetation (Tracey, J. G. 1982. The vegetation of the humid tropical region of North Queensland. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.), six parent material types, and range from 15 m to 1200 m asl. The climate is tropical with mean annual rainfall ranging from 1200 mm to over 8000 mm on the higher coastal ranges. Seventeen of the plots are located within the Wet Tropics Bioregion which is broadly composed of closed canopy rainforest and open Eucalyptus forests and woodlands.
Continuous areas of rainforest account for approximately 6300 km2 of the region (Tracey 1982 as above) and are found in the wetter and mountainous areas where the rainfall exceeds 1500 mm.
Project funding: Commonwealth Forest and Timber Bureau (1971-1978), CSIRO internal funding (1978-1992), Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management and the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centres (1992-2006), Earthwatch (2006). S
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
Tropical Rainforest Plot Network: Understorey Floristic Data, Northern Queensland, Australia, 1972-2016
Brief Title
Tropical Rainforest Plot Network: Understorey Floristics, 1972-2016
Alternate Title
CSIRO Permanent Rainforest Plots of North Queensland
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Long Term Ecological Research Network
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/5c3d6476d8588
Website Address
https://datacommons.anu.edu.au/
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
The Tropical Rainforest Plot Network Rainforest Understorey Floristic Data contains understorey floristic data from all 20 of its 0.5 ha (100 m x 50 m) permanent rainforest plots in Northern Queensland, Australia. Data was collected for all plots at the time of establishment before 1981 and data was again collected for half of the plots post-2000.
The CSIRO permanent rainforest plots are located within 60 km of the north Queensland coast between Mackay (21.5ºS, 149ºE) and the Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula (12.5ºS, 143ºE). The plots have a rainfall range of 1200 to 3500 mm, represent eleven vegetation types, six parent materials, and range from 15 m to 1200 m above sea level. Except for minor disturbances associated with selective logging on two plots, the plots were established in old growth forest and all plots have thereafter been protected.
In conjunction with the Tree Demographic Data packages which have been collected by the Tropical Rainforest Plot Network, the data collected from these 20 plots provides an insight into the floristical composition, structure and long term forest dynamics of Australian tropical rainforests and allows direct comparisons to be made with long-term monitoring plots at a global scale.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Tropical Rainforest Plot Network’s full program is provided at hhttps://doi.org/10.25911/5c3c249fbe8ee..
Full Description
Abstract: The Tropical Rainforest Plot Network Rainforest Understorey Floristic Data contains understorey floristic data from all 20 of its 0.5 ha (100 m x 50 m) permanent rainforest plots in Northern Queensland, Australia. Data was collected for all plots at the time of establishment before 1981 and data was again collected for half of the plots post-2000.
The CSIRO permanent rainforest plots are located within 60 km of the north Queensland coast between Mackay (21.5ºS, 149ºE) and the Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula (12.5ºS, 143ºE). The plots have a rainfall range of 1200 to 3500 mm, represent eleven vegetation types, six parent materials, and range from 15 m to 1200 m above sea level. Except for minor disturbances associated with selective logging on two plots, the plots were established in old growth forest and all plots have thereafter been protected. In conjunction with the Tree Demographic Data packages which have been collected by the Tropical Rainforest Plot Network, the data collected from these 20 plots provides an insight into the floristical composition, structure and long term forest dynamics of Australian tropical rainforests and allows direct comparisons to be made with long-term monitoring plots at a global scale.
For further background data please refer to Bradford, M.G., Murphy, H.T., Ford, A.J., Hogan, D. and Metcalfe, D.J. (2014) "Long-term stem inventory data from tropical rain forest plots in Australia", Ecology, 95(8): 2362. Ecological Archives E095-209-D1, https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0458R.1.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Tropical Rainforest Plot Network’s full program is provided at hhttps://doi.org/10.25911/5c3c249fbe8ee..
Data between 1971 and 2013 can be also be sourced from CSIRO Data Access Portal at http://doi.org/10.4225/08/59475c67be7a4.
Sampling method: The 20 CSIRO permanent plots were opportunistically located ahead of logging operations or in areas of no or minor recent disturbance (EP9 and EP38 showed evidence of slight disturbance in a section of the plot due to selective logging at least 20 years prior to establishment). Where possible, plots were located to represent the major forests and geologies of North Queensland. All plots were surveyed to enclose a projected plan view area of 0.5 ha (100 m x 50 m) with plot boundary distances corrected for slope. The resulting plot areas are presented in Table 2.
Plot boundaries were surveyed with prismatic compasses, 50 m steel survey band and Abney level. The four plot corners were initially marked with treated wooden pegs and subsequently replaced with steel pickets. All plots were subdivided into 16 subplots (A to P), each 25 m x 12.5 m with permanent wooden subplot markers. A 20 m buffer area around each plot was established to exclude future human disturbance. A canopy tower was located adjacent to both EP4 and EP33 from establishment until 2005 and focussed on canopy sampling and photosynthetic studies. Data from the towers is not included in this data package, but have been included in associated publications.
The plots were established between 1971 and 1980 and were initially censused every two years until 1991, and at intervals of 2-15 years thereafter.
Species References:
- Bostock, P. D., and A. E. Holland (2010). Census of the Queensland flora 2010. Toowoong: Queensland Herbarium.
- Henderson, R.J.F. (ed) (2002). Names and distribution of Queensland plants, algae and lichens. Toowoong: Queensland Herbarium.
Study extent: The study was conducted in the rainforests of North Queensland, Australia between Mackay 21.5ºS, 149ºE and the Iron Range 12.5ºS, 143ºE.
The plots span much of the geographical variation in environmental gradients across the study area and represent eleven moist humid tropical vegetation (Tracey, J. G. 1982. The vegetation of the humid tropical region of North Queensland. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.), six parent material types, and range from 15 m to 1200 m asl. The climate is tropical with mean annual rainfall ranging from 1200 mm to over 8000 mm on the higher coastal ranges. Seventeen of the plots are located within the Wet Tropics Bioregion which is broadly composed of closed canopy rainforest and open Eucalyptus forests and woodlands.
Continuous areas of rainforest account for approximately 6300 km2 of the region (Tracey 1982 as above) and are found in the wetter and mountainous areas where the rainfall exceeds 1500 mm.
Project funding: Commonwealth Forest and Timber Bureau (1971-1978), CSIRO internal funding (1978-1992), Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management and the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centres (1992-2006), Earthwatch (2006). S
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
Plot boundaries were surveyed with prismatic compasses, 50 m steel survey band and Abney level.
The 20 CSIRO permanent plots were opportunistically located ahead of logging operations or in areas of no or minor recent disturbance (EP9 and EP38 showed evidence of slight disturbance in a section of the plot due to selective logging at least 20 years prior to establishment). Where possible, plots were located to represent the major forests and geologies of North Queensland. All plots were surveyed to enclose a projected plan view area of 0.5 ha (100 m x 50 m) with plot boundary distances corrected for slope. Plot boundaries were surveyed with prismatic compasses, 50 m steel survey band and Abney level. The four plot corners were initially marked with treated wooden pegs and subsequently replaced with steel pickets. All plots were subdivided into 16 subplots, each 25 m x 12.5 m with permanent wooden subplot markers. A 20 m buffer area around each plot was established to exclude future human disturbance. A canopy tower was located adjacent to both EP4 and EP33 from establishment until 2005 and focussed on canopy sampling and photosynthetic studies. Data from the towers is not included in this data paper, however, publications resulting from data collected are included in the publications and results section. The plots were established between 1971 and 1980 and were initially censused every two years until 1991. Since 1991 census intervals have ranged between 2-15 years.
Understorey Floristic Data Collection
2
The understorey floristic composition was assessed for all plots at establishment. Within each subplot, the presence or absence of each species were assigned numeric classes as follows:
The number 1 was assigned in subplots where individuals were present as ≥ 50 cm to 3 m in height;
The number 2 was assigned in subplots where individuals were present as >3 m in height and <10 cm DBH;
The number 3 was assigned in subplots where individuals were present as both ≥ 50 cm to 3 m in height and >3 m in height and <10 cm DBH;
The number 0 was assigned if species was not present.
A voucher specimen was collected for a representative of each species not present as a stem ≥10 cm DBH on each plot. These vouchers were lodged at the Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) and various herbaria around the world. All plots are progressively being re-assessed and vouchers for any new species are collected in a semi-formal manner.
The number 1 was assigned in subplots where individuals were present as ≥ 50 cm to 3 m in height;
The number 2 was assigned in subplots where individuals were present as >3 m in height and <10 cm DBH;
The number 3 was assigned in subplots where individuals were present as both ≥ 50 cm to 3 m in height and >3 m in height and <10 cm DBH;
The number 0 was assigned if species was not present.
A voucher specimen was collected for a representative of each species not present as a stem ≥10 cm DBH on each plot. These vouchers were lodged at the Australian Tropical Herbarium (ATH) and various herbaria around the world. All plots are progressively being re-assessed and vouchers for any new species are collected in a semi-formal manner.
File Descriptions
mtrf_understorey_floristic_data_1972+_p825t1011.csv
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Contact Email
matt.bradford@csiro.au
Contact Address
CSIRO
P.O. Box 780
Atherton, Qld., 4883
Australia
Contact Phone Number
+61 7 4091 8800
Principal Investigator
Matt Bradford
Supervisors
Matt Bradford
Collaborators
Daniel Metcalfe;
Greg Unwin;
Bernie Hyland;
Tony Irvine;
David Keith;
Andrew J. Ford
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:Cyclones;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Climate change;
keyword:rainforest;
keyword:mortality;
keyword:recruitment;
keyword:cyclone;
keyword:hurricane;
keyword:disturbance;
keyword:stem growth;
keyword:stem height;
keyword:permanent plot;
keyword:Australia;
keyword:biomass;
Tropical Rainforest;
Understorey Floristics
Type of Research Activity
Strategic basic research
Date Coverage
2016
1972
Geospatial Location
The CSIRO permanent rainforest plots are located within 60 km of the north Queensland coast between Mackay (21.5ºS, 149ºE) and the Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula (12.5ºS, 143ºE). North-eastern Australia is topographically diverse, and the plots span much of the geographical variation in environmental gradients across the study area. The climate is tropical with mean annual rainfall ranging from 1200 mm to over 8000 mm on the higher coastal ranges. Seventeen of the plots are located within the Wet Tropics Bioregion (sensu Department of Environment 2013) between 19.4ºS, 146.5ºE and 15.7ºS, 145.3ºE.
text
northlimit = -12.74273; southlimit = -21.25266; westlimit = 143.25092; eastLimit = 148.54295
iso19139dcmiBox
Date of data creation
2018-10-26
Year of data publication
2018
Creator(s) for Citation
Bradford
Matt G.
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Publications
10.4225/08/59475c67be7a4
CSIRO Permanent Rainforest Plots of North Queensland, 1971-2013. CSIRO, http://doi.org/10.4225/08/59475c67be7a4
CSIRO Permanent Rainforest Plots of North Queensland, 1971-2013.
doi
9781920928193 (pbk)
Bostock, P. D., and A. E. Holland (2010). Census of the Queensland flora 2010. Toowoong: Queensland Herbarium.
Census of the Queensland flora 2010
isbn
0734527039
Henderson, R.J.F. (ed) (2002). Names and distribution of Queensland plants, algae and lichens. Toowoong: Queensland Herbarium.
Names and distribution of Queensland plants, algae and lichens
isbn
Other Related Identifiers
MorphoId:ltern9.62;
PackageId:825
Access Rights
Restrictions: To mitigate risks associated with threatened species, LTERN's Dat 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.
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: 20
Date of execution: 2014-07-31
Restrictions: To mitigate risks associated with threatened species, LTERN's Dat 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
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:
Tropical Rainforest Plot Network data packages, 1971-2018 [anudc:5554] - hasAssociationWith:
Matt G. Bradford [anudc:5608] - hasAssociationWith:
Andrew J. Ford [anudc:5562] - hasAssociationWith:
Bernard Patrick Matthew Hyland [anudc:5564] - hasAssociationWith:
Daniel Metcalfe [anudc:5576] - hasAssociationWith:
David Keith [anudc:5578] - hasAssociationWith:
Greg Unwin [anudc:5589] - hasAssociationWith:
Tony Irvine [anudc:5626]