Four paired transects were set up early in the Reserve history to monitor the spread of saltbush (
Atriplex spp.) into the reserve across the eastern and southern boundaries. These were read regularly for the first few years but data from them are not available digitally. The transects were reactivated in 1989 and measurements are provided for four occasions: 1989, 2003, 2008 and 2014. Species are identified as
Atriplex vesicaria,
A. stipitata, or if uncertain as A. sp., using the classifications of the Census of South Australian plants, algae and fungi: Vascular plants (2024). V.6.0 – 14 Sep. 2024. Editors: Lang, P.J., Kellermann, J., Hammer, T.A & Waycott, M. (State Herbarium of South Australia: Adelaide, South Australia.).
This is version 2.1 of the TGB Osborn Saltbush Transect Survey data release.
' The change log is as follows:
- V2.1, 2026-02-16; Miranda Fittock, Arun Singh Ramesh and Specht; Ensured dates recorded were in ISO format yyyyMMdd. Ensured the Atriplex species are properly recorded in both files, ‘unspecified’ changed to NA. Added direction and transect length information to the data file. Added some clarification in the metadata.
- V2, 2025-06-27; Alison Specht; Separated, cleaned and organised data files to comply with FAIR standards, aligning vocabularies with the TERN vocabularies and comprehensive metadata created.
- V1, 2008-2014; Russell Sinclair; digitised field data sheets and computer records to be delivered to the AEKOS TERN portal. These data were bundled with other vegetation quadrat data. Added required V1 metadata in the AEKOS portal.
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.
Acknowledgement is due to all the students, staff and researchers who have collected data at the site since its establishment, to those who have entered the data, and to the support of funders and interested parties, including the Adelaide University. Without the vision, tenacity, and diligence of many past researchers, these unique data could not have been made openly available.
Purpose
In the mid-1920's Professor Theodore George Bentley Osborn, Professor of Botany in the University of Adelaide, put forward strong scientific arguments concerning the lack of knowledge of the ecology of arid zone vegetation, and the effect of grazing on it. In 1925, a parcel of land of around 390 ha was identified in Koonamore Station in South Australia and fenced to exclude rabbits and other stock, and Mr Wilcox, one of the directors, had a three-roomed house erected to serve as a field laboratory. The area was originally referred to as the Arid Region Flora Reserve but later was named the TGB Osborn Vegetation Reserve after its founder. For simplicity it is commonly referred to as the Koonamore Vegetation Reserve. There have been some unwanted animal incursions over the years, but these have been rare. In 1931, for example, rabbits were able to enter due to fence damage. Kangaroos and emus are not fully excluded. As is clear from the objectives stated by TGB Osborn, the reserve was to provide the basis for systematic measurements of the now-protected vegetation. Osborn and his team (including Prof. J.G. Wood and Mr Terry Paltridge) set up a series of quadrats (square plots) and photopoints within the reserve. A series of transects was later added. All of the foregoing were permanently marked, and observations on species occurrence (presence and abundance) and physical measurements of the plants were made repeatedly, but at varying intervals.
