TERN Surveillance Monitoring Program: Plant occurrence

This dataset lists plant species and their abundance identified at rangeland sites across Australia by the TERN Surveillance Monitoring team, using standardised AusPlots methodologies.

Plant occurrences (i.e. a sample of a plant at a particular point and time) are methodically identified at each site as part of the AusPlots Point intercept method. Plant species are identified at each site as part of the AusPlots Vegetation vouchering and Basal Area methods. In addition to site visit date and location, the information provided includes growth form, vegetative height and whether the plant is dead. In-canopy-sky is also recorded if there is no intercept to foliage or branches when viewing the canopy through the densitometer and can be used to calculate species cover or aerial cover. Other recorded information includes dead plants basal area and the number of sampling points. Species identification is updated once confirmed by Herbaria. Plant occurrences data can be aggregated across the site to calculate relative species abundance, green ground cover, species- growth form- and -community-level basal area.

In addition, at least one specimen is taken from each species at the site, assigned a barcode and provided for vouchering and further analyses. See AusPlots Rangelands Vocabularies for a list of parameters collected.

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.
TERN is supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, NCRIS.

Purpose

Collation of data from Australian Rangelands will: increase understanding of the dynamics of plant species and soils; provide input into DNA barcoding of Australian vegetation; help understand the biogeography underpinning and threatening processes impacting Australian rangeland ecosystems; assist state and federal agencies to meet their monitoring and reporting obligations; enable researchers and land managers to assess current land 'state' for a variety of purposes depending on how the data is used; identify the climate zones, bioregions, land types and ecosystems where changes are occurring and the management regimes and/or pressures contributing to these changes.
Basal area provides information useful for calculating biomass and carbon levels and for structural studies.