LTERN Data Portal

Victorian Alpine Plot Network (Alpine Summit Plots): Vegetation Life-form Data, South-East Highlands, Australia, 2017

Citation

Morgan, J; Hoffmann, A (): Victorian Alpine Plot Network (Alpine Summit Plots): Vegetation Life-form Data, South-East Highlands, Australia, 2017. Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://www.ltern.org.au/knb/metacat/ltern.366.13/html

Download EML
Identifier
docid
ltern.366.13
Data Creators
Individual
Dr John Morgan
Organization
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environment, La Trobe University
Individual
Professor Ary Hoffmann
Organization
The University of Melbourne
Abstract

This Victorian Alpine Plot Network Vegetation Life Form Data Package comprises line intercept data for alpine mountain summits in the Australian Alps. For each mountain summit, four varying length permanent transects have been established. These transects extend downslope, along each cardinal and inter-cardinal directions, to a point situated 5 altitudinal metres below the summit. Along each transect, plant and substrate attributes recorded include dominant life form classes, the ‘presence’ of dominant plant species and substrate ‘type’ when vegetation is absent. This study, which commenced in 2001, forms part of the collection of data packages by the Victorian Alpine Plot Network. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network’s full program is provided at http://www.ltern.org.au/index.php/ltern-plot-networks/victorian-alpine.

Contacts for Questions on the Use and Interpretation of Data
Individual
Dr John Morgan
Organization
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environment, La Trobe University
Address
La Trobe University
Bundoora. Vic 3086
Phone
voice
03 9479 2226
Email Address
J.Morgan@latrobe.edu.au
Individual
Professor Ary Hoffmann
Organization
The University of Melbourne
Address
Bio21 Institute
The University of Melbourne
Parkville. Victoria 3010
Email Address
ary@unimelb.edu.au
Project Information and Data Owners
Title
Victorian Alpine Plot Network
Personnel
Role
Data Owner
Organization
La Trobe University
Role
Plot Network Leader
Individual
Dr John Morgan
Organization
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environment, La Trobe University
Role
Principal Investigator
Individual
Professor Ary Hoffmann
Organization
The University of Melbourne
Role
Content Provider
Individual
Dr Henrik Wahren
Organization
Department of Botany, La Trobe University
Funding

Australian Geographic and Holsworth Fund. Since 2012 this project has been part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN). This work was supported by the Australian Government’s Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network (www.tern.org.au) – an Australian research infrastructure facility established under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and Education Infrastructure Fund–Super Science Initiative through the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.

Methods and Sampling Information
Methods
Method Step 1
Description
Plot Setup

For each mountain summit, four variable length permanent transects have been established that run from the summit, downslope, to a contour 5 m in elevation below the highest point (the ‘-5 m contour’). Transects run from the summit to the north, south, west and east.

Instrument
  • None specified
Method Step 2
Description
Data Collection

Along each transect, line intercepts (to the nearest centimetre) are recorded for each of the dominant classes (grasses, herbs, shrubs), noting dominant species, as well as ground cover condition when vegetation is absent (bare ground, rock). These data are converted to percentage cover per transect to detect structural changes.

Instrument
  • None specified
Sampling
Study Extent Description

No limitations or missing units in temporal coverage have been referred to in the Conceptual Design.

Sampling Description

A global climate change and mountain environments monitoring network - The Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA; http://www.gloria.ac.at) - was established in 2001 to detect long-term vegetation change on alpine mountain summits. Observations focus on changes in species richness with respect to local temperatures and altitude. Five mountain summit survey sites were established in the Kosciuszko National Park in 2004 and several in the Victorian Alpine National Park in 2006. There are currently 12 such summits, encompassing the geographic distribution of high alpine summits in the Australian Alps, with each to be surveyed at 5-year intervals.

Associated Parties
Role
Content Provider
Individual
Dr Susanna Venn
Position
Network Contact
Organization
Department of Botany, La Trobe University
Keywords and Subject Categories
GCMD Science Keywords
  • Biological Classification > Plants
  • Biosphere > Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Alpine/Tundra
Keywords List
  • Species richness
  • Alpine National Park
  • Alpine summits
  • Dominant classes
  • Compositional changes
LTERN Monitoring Themes
  • Vegetation structure
  • Plant species composition
  • Plant species abundance
  • Individual plants
ANZSRC-FOR Codes
  • 0602 Ecology
Geographic Coverage
Geographic Description
Alpine Summit, Australian Alps
Bounding Coordinates
West
146.4542 degrees
 
East
147.30667 degrees
 
North
-36.7325 degrees
 
South
-37.13255 degrees
 
Temporal Coverage
Date
2017
Intellectual Rights, Licence and Usage Conditions

CC-BY-4_0 Special Conditions No specific attribution required. Citation details as displayed in the LTERN Data Portal (http://www.ltern.org.au/knb/) Spatial coordinates for site names are available at https://www.ltern.org.au/knb/metacat/ltern6.304/html (Victorian Alpine Plot Network (Alpine Summit Plots): Plot Details - Spatial Coordinates for Vegetation Data, South-East Highlands, Australia).

Data Table
vasp_vegetation_life-form_cover_2017_p784t1098.csv
Name
vasp_vegetation_life-form_cover_2017_p784t1098.csv
Description
Victorian Alpine Plot Network Alpine/ Sub-alpine Vegetation Life-form Data.
Attribute Information
date
Name
date
Definition
Date of record
Measurement Type
dateTime
Measurement Domain
Format
YYYY-MM-DD
site
Name
site
Definition
Site characteristic: Alpine Summit transect location
Measurement Type
nominal
Measurement Domain
Text Domain
Definition
Text
metres
Name
metres
Definition
Distance along transect
Measurement Type
ratio
Measurement Domain
Standard Unit
meter
Number Type
real
direction
Name
direction
Definition
Cardinal and sub-cardinal points
Measurement Type
ordinal
Measurement Domain
Text Domain
Definition
Character
cover
Name
cover
Definition
Dominant vegetation class and substrate type. NA is used for data that has not been collected, as the transects vary in length and measurements are not taken at every distance.
Measurement Type
nominal
Measurement Domain
Text Domain
Definition
Character
Number Of Records
28001
Physical Structure Description
Object Name
vasp_vegetation_life-form_cover_2017_p784t1098.csv
Size
1304797 byte
Text Format
Number of Header Lines
1
Record Delimiter
#x0A
Attribute Orientation
column
Simple Delimited
Field Delimiter
,
Distribution
Online
URL
ltern.367.2
Access
Access Control
Auth System
knb
Order
allowFirst
Allow:
PermissionPrincipal
[all] cn=submitters,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org
[read] cn=pn_vic_alpine,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org
[read] cn=allusers,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org
Additional Metadata Links
additionalLinks
Additional Metadata : additionalLinks
Metadata
additionalLinks
url
@name
Victorian Alpine Plot Network
http://www.ltern.org.au/index.php/ltern-plot-networks/victorian-alpine
Access
Access Control
Auth System
knb
Order
allowFirst
Allow:
PermissionPrincipal
[read] public
[all] cn=submitters,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org
[read] cn=pn_vic_alpine,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org