Victorian Alpine Plot Network (Alpine Summit Plots): Lowland-to-highland Roadside Transects 4WD Tracks Data, South-East Highlands, Australia, 2015
Abstract: This Victorian Alpine Plot Network Road Transects 4WD Track Data Package comprises transect-based vegetation data along the Springs-Bogong Jack Saddle Track in the South-East Highlands, Australia. These data have been used against background quadrat data to test a hypothesis about roads as vectors for dispersal of invasive species. Plots are located at altitudinally stratified intervals along two altitudinally-stratified transects. The transects follow major roads and management tracks in the Victorian Alps. Each track is divided into sectors in which plots are situated. Within each plot, all species are identified and are assigned abundance and cover scores. The Alpine Summit plots study, which commenced in 2001, forms part of the collection of data packages by the Victorian Alpine Plot Network.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c11c3d283b0e
Sampling method: The data collection protocol follows the guidelines of the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), http://www.mountaininvasions.org/. The aim is to determine which exotic (and native) species are where on mountain roadsides and are using these data against background quadrat data collected over past years and decades to test hypotheses about roads as vectors for dispersal of invasive species.
Study extent: These data aim to document the distribution of exotic (and native) species from foothills to mountain summits along transport corridors.
Project funding: Parks Victoria, Mt Hotham Alpine Resort. 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
Victorian Alpine Plot Network (Alpine Summit Plots): Lowland-to-highland Roadside Transects 4WD Tracks Data, South-East Highlands, Australia, 2015
Alternate Title
Victorian Alpine Plot Network: Lowland-to-highland Roadside Transects — 4WD Summit Plots, 2014–2015
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Long Term Ecological Research Network
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/5c3ebfedd8358
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
This Victorian Alpine Plot Network Road Transects 4WD Track Data Package comprises transect-based vegetation data along the Springs-Bogong Jack Saddle Track in the South-East Highlands, Australia.
These data have been used against background quadrat data to test a hypothesis about roads as vectors for dispersal of invasive species. Plots are located at altitudinally stratified intervals along two altitudinally-stratified transects. The transects follow major roads and management tracks in the Victorian Alps. Each track is divided into sectors in which plots are situated. Within each plot, all species are identified and are assigned abundance and cover scores. The Alpine Summit plots study, which commenced in 2001, forms part of the collection of data packages by the Victorian Alpine Plot Network.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c11c3d283b0e
Full Description
Abstract: This Victorian Alpine Plot Network Road Transects 4WD Track Data Package comprises transect-based vegetation data along the Springs-Bogong Jack Saddle Track in the South-East Highlands, Australia. These data have been used against background quadrat data to test a hypothesis about roads as vectors for dispersal of invasive species. Plots are located at altitudinally stratified intervals along two altitudinally-stratified transects. The transects follow major roads and management tracks in the Victorian Alps. Each track is divided into sectors in which plots are situated. Within each plot, all species are identified and are assigned abundance and cover scores. The Alpine Summit plots study, which commenced in 2001, forms part of the collection of data packages by the Victorian Alpine Plot Network.
A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c11c3d283b0e
Sampling method: The data collection protocol follows the guidelines of the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), http://www.mountaininvasions.org/. The aim is to determine which exotic (and native) species are where on mountain roadsides and are using these data against background quadrat data collected over past years and decades to test hypotheses about roads as vectors for dispersal of invasive species.
Study extent: These data aim to document the distribution of exotic (and native) species from foothills to mountain summits along transport corridors.
Project funding: Parks Victoria, Mt Hotham Alpine Resort. 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 Setup
1
The sampling regime consists of two altitudinal transect with plots located at altitudinal intervals along the transects. The transects follow major roads and management tracks in the Victorian Alps.The two road-side transects are:
1) Springs Track
2) Fainter North
Springs Track is divided into 6 altitudinal sectors. These are spaced according to a simple formula: (highest altitude - lowest altitude) /5. In each sector, one quadrat, 2 m x 50 m, is placed parallel to the 4WD track.
Fainter North is divided into 3 altitudinal sectors. These are spaced according to a simple formula: (highest altitude - lowest altitude) /2. In each sector, two quadrats, each 2 m x 50 m, is placed parallel to the 4WD track.
Cover and abundance scores are measured for all plant species in each plot.
1) Springs Track
2) Fainter North
Springs Track is divided into 6 altitudinal sectors. These are spaced according to a simple formula: (highest altitude - lowest altitude) /5. In each sector, one quadrat, 2 m x 50 m, is placed parallel to the 4WD track.
Fainter North is divided into 3 altitudinal sectors. These are spaced according to a simple formula: (highest altitude - lowest altitude) /2. In each sector, two quadrats, each 2 m x 50 m, is placed parallel to the 4WD track.
Cover and abundance scores are measured for all plant species in each plot.
Data Collection
2
Within each quadrat, we identify all species and assign an abundance score (where 1 = 1-10 individuals, 2 = 10-100 individuals, 3 = >100 individuals) and a cover score (1 = <1%, 2 = 1-5% and 3 = >5%).
File Descriptions
vasp_4WD_track_monitoring_all_abundance_2015_p586t1285.csv
| abundance |
| ||||||||||
| description | Abundance score for all sites (Springs Track, Fainter North) | ||||||||||
| number of records | 919 | ||||||||||
| origin |
| ||||||||||
| site_name |
| ||||||||||
| species_name |
|
vasp_4WD_track_monitoring_all_cover_2015_p586t1286.csv
| cover |
| ||||||||||
| description | Cover score for all sites (Springs Track, Fainter North) | ||||||||||
| number of records | 919 | ||||||||||
| origin |
| ||||||||||
| site_name |
| ||||||||||
| species_name |
|
vasp_4WD_track_monitoring_all_environmental_factors_2015_p586t1281.csv
| bare_ground_pc |
| ||||||||||
| description | Environmental factors for all sites (Springs Track, Fainter North) | ||||||||||
| disturbance_intensity_categorical |
| ||||||||||
| disturbance_type_s |
| ||||||||||
| fenced_yes_no |
| ||||||||||
| fire_history_confidence_pc |
| ||||||||||
| forest_canopy_pc |
| ||||||||||
| herbivore_disturb_cov_class |
| ||||||||||
| herbivores_list_species |
| ||||||||||
| number of records | 13 | ||||||||||
| site_name |
| ||||||||||
| vegetation_pc |
| ||||||||||
| year_of_last_fire |
|
vasp_4WD_track_monitoring_all_site_details_2015_p586t1282.csv
| altitude_m |
| ||||||
| aspect_deg |
| ||||||
| date |
| ||||||
| description | Site details for all sites (Springs Track, Fainter North) | ||||||
| geology_cat |
| ||||||
| number of records | 13 | ||||||
| plant_community |
| ||||||
| project |
| ||||||
| quad_length_m |
| ||||||
| quad_width_m |
| ||||||
| quadrat_type |
| ||||||
| road_type |
| ||||||
| road_verge_width_m |
| ||||||
| site_name |
| ||||||
| site_region |
| ||||||
| slope_deg |
| ||||||
| topography_cat |
|
vasp_4WD_track_monitoring_all_abundance_2015_p586t1295.zip
| description | ZIP file of abundance scores in wide format (one CSV file per site) |
vasp_4WD_track_monitoring_all_cover_2015_p586t1296.zip
| description | ZIP file of cover scores in wide format (one CSV file per site) |
Contact Email
j.morgan@latrobe.edu.au
Contact Address
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environment
La Trobe University
Bundoora, Vic., 3086
Australia
Contact Phone Number
+61 03 9479 2226
Principal Investigator
John Morgan
Supervisors
John Morgan
Collaborators
Henrick Wahren;
Ary Hoffman
Fields of Research
0602 - Ecology
Keywords
GCMD:Biological Classification > Plants;
GCMD:Biosphere > Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Alpine/Tundra;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Vegetation structure;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species composition;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species abundance;
LTERN Monitoring Theme:Individual plants;
keyword:Alpine National Park;
keyword:Species richness;
keyword:Compositional changes;
keyword:Weed invasion;
keyword:Altitudinal gradient;
Victorian Alpine;
Summit Plots;
Lowland-to-highland Roadside Transects — 4WD
Type of Research Activity
Strategic basic research
Date Coverage
2015
2014
Geospatial Location
Victorian Alpine Plot Network Lowland-to-highland 4WD Track Transects Data
text
northlimit = -36.7325; southlimit = -37.13255; westlimit = 146.4542; eastLimit = 147.30667
iso19139dcmiBox
Date of data creation
2018-10-25
Year of data publication
2018
Creator(s) for Citation
Morgan
John
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Publications
http://www.mountaininvasions.org/
Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), http://www.mountaininvasions.org
Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN)
uri
Other Related Identifiers
MorphoId:ltern6.269;
PackageId:586
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: 7
Date of execution: 2016-10-10
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:
Victorian Alpine Plot Network: Victoria's Bogong High Plains and other high plains and mountain summits data packages, 1940-2018 [anudc:5556] - hasAssociationWith:
Dr John Morgan [anudc:5596] - hasAssociationWith:
Ary Hoffmann [anudc:5563] - hasAssociationWith:
Dr Carl-Henrik A Wahren [anudc:5591]