Credit
We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Funding was provided by Education Investment Fund (EIF). LD Prior (UTAS) assisted in the study design. J Foulkes (UA), B Sparrow (UA) and I Fox (UA) provided administrative support.
Purpose
The AusPlots Forest Monitoring Network aims to establish a continental-scale plot based monitoring network that improves our understanding of tree growth, forest productivity and carbon dynamics in tall eucalypt forests in relation to continental-scale environmental gradients. This permanent plot network provides the infrastructure and data for tracking all aspects of forest dynamics (tree growth, mortality and recruitment) over long periods of time. Between 2012 and 2015, the AusPlots Forest Monitoring Network established 48 large 1 ha plots in mature, highly productive tall eucalypt forests across the Australian continent. Over 20,000 trees in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia have been tagged, measured and located.
Lineage
Data Creation
Species identification:
Field identification of all trees >10 cm diameter at breast height to genus and species level. Voucher specimens from unknown species (prefix UNN) were collected and submitted to local herbarium. [see Manual]
Tree Description:
All trees >10 cm diameter at breast height were described by field observation. The following information was collected for each tree: [1] Tree Condition (i.e. Live or Dead); [2] Tree Status (Multi-stem, Buttressed, Burnt, Hollow, etc.); [3] Growth Stage (Regeneration, Regrowth, Mature, Senescent, etc.); [4] Crown Class (Suppressed, Intermediate, Co-dominant, Dominant, etc.); [5] Mode of Death (Standing, Broken, Anthropogenic, Burnt, Lightning, etc.). [see Manual]
Diameter measurement:
For all trees >10 cm diameter at breast height, the diameter was measured (in centimeters) at an ascribed point of measurement with a diameter tape. The standard point of measurement was a height of 1.3 m, except in the case of buttressed or 'problem trees' whereby strict rules governed an alternative point of measurement. [see Manual]
Tree Height measurement:
For a subset of trees measured for diameter, the height to the top of the tree was measured (in meters) using trigonometric principles using a Vertex Hypsometer. The hypsometer calculates tree height using (a) horizontal distance to the tree and (b) angle to the top of the tree. Tree heights were collected across the observed diameter range for each plot.[see Manual]
Height of Break:
Visually estimated height of broken tree (Tree_Status=B), in meters. [see Manual]
Tree location:
For all trees >10 cm diameter at breast height, the distance from the 0,0 corner (in meters) along the X and Y axis was collected using a 100 m measuring tape and a electronic rangefinding device.
Bole Height measurement:
For a subset of trees measured for diameter, the height to the top of first substantial branch (i.e. Bole Height) was measured (in meters) using trigonometric principles using a Vertex Hypsometer. The hypsometer calculates Bole Height using (a) horizontal distance to the tree and (b) angle to the first substantial branch on the tree. Bole heights were collected across the observed diameter range for each plot.[see Manual]
Sampling Design:
Gradient Designs | Repeated Measures | Self-selected (Landscape Scale) Sampling
Flora Sampling Technique:
Quadrat/Plot/Grid
Above-ground live biomass and above-ground dead biomass (kilograms) was calculated for each stem and aggregated to the site level (tonnes per hectare). Â For all stems where diameter was measured at 1.3 m (or over) from ground level, Â above-ground live biomass was calculated using generic tree, generic eucalypt and generic acacia allometric equations in table 4 from Paul et al 2013. The above ground live biomass of palm species were calculated using the generic palm (family-level) equation in table 3, in Goodman et al 2013. For stems where the diameter point of measurement was above 1.3 m, a taper model described in Philipson et al 2020 was applied to estimate an equivalent stem diameter at 1.3 m aboveground. To calculate above-ground dead biomass, a reduction factor of 85% of above-ground live biomass was used, as per Bennett et al 2013.
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