Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation Stem Diameter, Height and Aboveground Woody Biomass Data 

This data contains stem diameter, height measurement and above ground living biomass calculations for an Australian tropical rainforest. Diameter and height measurements for stems ≥10cm diameter at breast height were sampled between 2001 - 2010 in the canopy crane plot and in 2014 within the core 1 ha plot within the Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation site. 

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. 

This dataset records tree diameter and height data used to calculate above-ground biomass across vegetation types in Australia. This data is important for mapping and monitoring changes in plant growth, carbon storage and terrestrial energy fluxes. 

Site information and plot layout:
Tree diameter and height data was collected from two plots within the Cape Tribulation site: the core 1 ha plot (square plot, 100 m x 100 m) and the canopy crane plot (circular plot, 55 m radius). The core 1-ha plot was divided into 25 subplots (20 m x 20 m).
Tree survey:
All individual stems ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height (1.3 m) were mapped within plots. DBH and height was measured for each mapped. Heights are recorded to the nearest 1 metre for each measured stem and are recorded as the length of the stem from ground to highest leaf, not height above ground level. Heights for easily visible and larger stems are measured using a Nikon laser range finder. The heights of all other stems are estimated by comparing to the measured stems.
Biomass calculations:
Above-ground biomass was calculated for each stem >10 cm diameter at breast height using the allometric equation from Chave et al 2014: Chave, J., Réjou-Méchain, M., Búrquez, A., Chidumayo, E., Colgan, M.S., Delitti, W.B., Duque, A., Eid, T., Fearnside, P.M., Goodman, R.C., Henry, M., Martínez-Yrízar, A., Mugasha, W.A., Muller-Landau, H.C., Mencuccini, M., Nelson, B.W., Ngomanda, A., Nogueira, E.M., Ortiz-Malavassi, E., Pélissier, R., Ploton, P., Ryan, C.M., Saldarriaga, J.G. and Vieilledent, G. (2014), Improved allometric models to estimate the aboveground biomass of tropical trees. Glob Change Biol, 20: 3177-3190. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12629. Wood density values were were taken from a database of species of northern Australia (CSIRO unpublished).