Cumberland Plain Coarse Woody Debris Data 

This data contains diameter, volume and biomass measurements of all coarse woody debris pieces and standing dead trees within the core 1 ha plot at the Cumberland Plain site in 2014 - 2015. 

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. 

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is a fundamental component of forested ecosystems, providing habitat for organisms and play an important role in nutrient cycling and carbon storage. 

Coarse woody debris sampling:
Coarse woody debris (CWD) was sampled at the Cumberland Plain core 1 ha site in 2015. The core 1 hectare was subdivided in circa 12 m wide strips running East-West. Completing one strip at a time (starting in SE corner of the plot), all CWD (> 10 cm diameter) within the core 1 hectare were fitted with a numbered aluminium tag. The tag was inserted into the ground next to the CWD. The diameter at the base (thickest part), and the top (thinnest part) of a segment of CWD within the core 1 hectare was measured using a DBH tape. Void space and decay class classification based on Baker and Chao (2011) were recorded for each CWD piece. Mean wood density for the decomposition classes was estimated from a separate sample of CWD segments, but did not show a consistent pattern. The following wood densities (in g. cm-3) were applied: decomposition class 1: 0.69; class 2: 0.75; class 3: 0.74, class 4: 0.85, class 5: 0.60.
Standing dead trees sampling
Standing dead tress were sampled in 2014 and 2015. Using a 100 m tape measure and the Gentry Transects as guidance, the core 1 hectare was subdivided in circa 12 m wide strips running East-West. Doing one strip at a time (starting in SE corner of the plot), all standing dead trees (> 10 cm DBH) within the core 1 hectare were fitted with a numbered aluminium tag. The tag was attached to the Eastern side of the trunk using stainless steel wire inserted into the bark with a custom made tool (i.e. small screwdriver with small notch). Trees with multiple stems were given multiple tags if forking below breast height. The species were identified by Dr. Tony Haigh. The dead status of the tree was assessed by absence of green foliage. The maximum height of all trees within the core 1 hectare was measured using a Haglof Vertex Laser. This device calculates tree height from two distance measures (from the observer to the base and top of the tree) and the angle between the two distance measurements. The maximum height refers to the top 0.5 m of the tree because the Vertex must be aimed at sufficiently dense foliage and branches in order to make a measurement. After this maximum height measurement the proportion of the tree height greater than 10cm in diameter was estimated and the tree height measured by the Haglof Vertex Laser was multiplied by this proportion. When the volume of the segment was calculated dbh was used as the base of a tapered cylinder. This means that the volume of the stem only was calculated and any major branches over 10cm in diameter were not included in the calculation.
Calculation of coarse woody debris and standing dead tree volume, mass and biomass
The volume of the CWD segment was computed using the Smalian's formula: V = H x (S + s) / 2, where S and s are the diameters at the base and top of the segment, respectively. The final estimate of biomass combines the volume of the segment, with the decomposition class and the percentage of void space.