LTERN Data Portal

The overall plot size is 40 x 20 metre. The plot is permanently located by a central metal star picket and GPS waypoint. Plots relocated by helicopter have a round large white lid on top to assist sighting the plot from air.

A permanent photo picket with number plate is placed 10 metre inside the plot parallel with the plot sides.

The corners and inner transects are marked by metal droppers.

The inner 40 x 10 metre plot is delineated with measuring tapes. Two 50 metre tapes are laid out 5 metres either side of the central photo picket, parallel to the longer central axis, starting at zero on the left hand side heading to the back of the plot, again at zero on the right hand side heading to the top of the plot.

Nb: some plots are not strictly 40 metres long due to plot landscape constraints.

The photo is taken looking down the long axis of the plot from centre front picket toward the plot number plate.

These photos are not included as part of this data packages due to the file size, but can be provided on request from the data owner (Dr Russell-Smith).

• Forty 1m x 1m quadrats, systematically located every second metre along inner transects. The quadrat transects are always on the side of a measuring tape and orientated towards the centre of the plot.

• One metre poles are used to measure the 1 x 1 metre quadrats inside the plot along the length of the tape.

• Woody species are not recorded in the quadrat data.

Parameters assessed in each quadrat include:

• total percentage foliage cover of non-woody species

• total percentage litter cover

• total percentage rock cover

• A tree Canopy Closure Index (CCI) is assessed and classified into one of three cover classes

• The percentage cover of each grass or herb species present in each quadrat

**Note most plots have 40 quadrats on either side of the plot, however there is some variation due to rocks & other limitations.

A woody shrub is a woody species with DBH less than 5cm.

• All Woody shrub individuals are counted in 3 height classes: < 50 cm; 50 cm - 2 m; > 2 m DBH.

• Counts of individuals by species height < 50 cm class are undertaken along 1 m wide transects that define the ground stratum quadrats for the length of the plot.

• Use 1 metre poles to measure the 1 x 1 metre quadrats along the length of the tapes along the inside of the tape.

• For consistency shrubs in the < 50 cm height class should only be recorded along the entire 1 m transects defining the ground stratum quadrats.

• Counts of individuals of each species height 50cm-2m and >2m are undertaken in the internal area of the plot equivalent to 40 x 10 m.

Trees are defined as any woody species with diameter at breast height (DBH) > 5cm.

• All stems occurring within the whole plot are labelled with numbered metal tags and identified by species.

• Only one tag is required per tree, not per stem. Multi-stemmed trees will have more than one DBH per tree.

• The canopy top height in metres of each tree is estimated visually or with a clinometer.

• Scarring from fires is recorded on a scale of 0 to 5, referring to (in increasing severity) no scarring; charcoal on surface of bark only; scarring damage to cambium; scarring on trunk over large area; severe scarring on trunk over large area likely to result in death; dead. Fire scars are recorded only once per tree.

• DBH is measured for each separate stem that has ≥ 5 cm DBH. DBH is the vertical height measured at 1.3 metres from the level of the base of the tree. DBH is measured using a diameter tape or calipers.

*Note: Due to logistical constraints there is some variation in size of plots.