Alice Mulga Phenocam Images and Phenology Data Collection

Fixed cameras installed at the Alice Mulga SuperSite provide a time series of fine scale data as a long-term record of vegetation structure and condition. This dense time series of phenocam images provides data for analysis of ecological responses to climate variability, and when consolidated across the entire terrestrial ecosystem research network, supports calibration and validation of satellite-derived remote sensing data, ensuring delivery of higher quality results for broader scale environmental monitoring products.

Images are captured half hourly during daylight hours. Images and data products, including timeseries of the Green Chromatic Coordinate (Gcc) for a region-of-interest (ROI) that delineates an area of specific vegetation type, are made available on an almost real-time basis.

The Alice Mulga SuperSite was established in 2010 at Pine Hill Cattle Station with research plots located in low open woodland Mulga (Acacia aneura) and non-Acacia, hummock grassland, and river red gum forest. The core 1 ha plot is located in a dense Mulga woodland (cover 70–80%), while the Ti Tree East subsite is located in a mosaic of hummock grassland/Corymbia savanna with patches of Mulga/tussock grass. For additional site information, see https://www.tern.org.au/tern-observatory/tern-ecosystem-processes/alice-mulga-supersite/ .

Other images collected at the site include photopoints, digital cover photography (DCP), panoramic landscape and ancillary images of fauna and flora.

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.
The Alice Mulga SuperSite was established in 2010 in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney. The Alice Mulga SuperSite infrastructure was transferred in 2021 to James Cook University Cairns. This work was jointly funded by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), an Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) project.

Purpose
Time series of vegetation phenological observations are collected to understand ecosystems annual cycles. Phenological timeseries can be used for ground-truthing remote sensing data products, for studies of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, and as a standard for earth system models.