LTERN Data Portal

Fifty-three experimental 0.2 hectare sites were established on dune crests and upper slopes in Tarawi Nature Reserve; Scotia Sanctuary and Danggali National Park. This is part of a much larger dataset that spans from during 1996 to 2011.

The density (number of individuals per unit area) of each vascular plant species are recorded in

every plot. That is, both the five 15 x 15 m fenced plots and the three 13 x 7.5 m unfenced external

plots. The total counts made in each plot are aided by informally dividing each plot up into segments

for logistical purposes only. Counts of each species are partitioned into: live reproductive plants; live

non-reproductive established plants; fire-killed established plants; plants that had emerged as

seedlings or re-sprouted after fire and subsequently died; live seedlings less than two years of age;

and dead seedlings. From Spring 2011, several additional attributes recording vegetation structure are visually estimated

in each exclusion and external plot. These currently include: hummock grass height (ten randomly

selected individuals per plot); and single estimates per plot for: tree cover and height range; shrub height (median and range); shrub cover; hummock grass cover; ephemeral grass cover; leaf and twig litter cover and bare ground cover. Seedling cohorts of Eucalyptus and Callitris that emerged after fires in 1996, 1997, 2005 and 2006 were marked with uniquely numbered metal tags and monitored for survival, growth and reproduction in subsequent years.