Category: TERN

Minjerribah (86)

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Site name: Minjerribah
Site number: 86
Point numbers: 341 (Minjerribah Dry A), 342 (Minjerribah Wet A), 343 (Minjerribah Dry B), 344 (Minjerribah Wet B)
Ecoregion: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Participant and site owner: Quandamooka people (Traditional Owners)
Site location: Coastal Queensland
Latitude: -27.554
Longitude: 153.452
Site description: Minjerribah is a large sand island of approximately 38 km long and 11 km wide off the coast of Brisbane, Queensland. The Quandamooka people of Minjerribah have a strong and persisting connection to the island over many thousands of years. The island has over 100 freshwater lakes and wetlands and is home to rare, vulnerable, endangered and near threatened animals and important vegetation communities.

Warra Tall Eucalypt (63)

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Site name: Warra Tall Eucalypt
Site number: 63
Point numbers: 249 (Warra Tall Eucalypt Wet A), 250 (Warra Tall Eucalypt Wet B), 251 (Warra Tall Eucalypt Dry B), 252 (Warra Tall Eucalypt Dry A)
Ecoregion: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Participant and site owner: TERN, Tasmanian Government, Forestry Tasmania, the University of Tasmania and CSIRO
Site location: Tasmanian World Heritage Area, southern Tasmania
Latitude: -43.091
Longitude: 146.652
Site description: Warra Tall Eucalypt site was established as a Long-term Ecological Research site in 1998. Warra is dominated by Eucalyptus obliqua forest and is the focus of multi-disciplinary research into the ecological processes of these unique ecosystems. Warra has some of the tallest and largest flowering forests on Earth, and is home to a range of Southern Hemisphere rainforest plants, Tasmanian Devils, Platypus, Echidna, Cockatoos, and Wallabies. The site has experienced significant fires in recent years. The establishment of acoustic sensors in these systems will provide a record for post-fire recovery.

Robson Creek (51)

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Site name: Robson Creek
Site number: 51
Point numbers: 201 (Robson Creek Dry A), 202 (Robson Creek Wet A), 203 (Robson Creek Dry B), 204 (Robson Creek Wet B)
Ecoregion: Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Participant and site owner: James Cook University, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Far North Queensland
Latitude: -17.117
Longitude: 145.630
The Robson Creek SuperSite lies on the Atherton Tablelands in the wet tropical rainforests of Australia at 680-740m elevation. It is situated in Danbulla National Park within the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. The climate is seasonal with approximately 60% of rain falling between January–March and the landform is moderately inclined with a low relief although the Lamb Range rises sharply to 1276m asl immediately to the north of the 25ha plot which was established in 2009. The vegetation of Robson Creek is predominantly simple notophyll vine forest, although there are areas of drier vegetation. All stems ≥10cm diameter are measured, tagged and mapped to provide the a mapping of the most carbon dense forest in Australia with >23000 stems and over 200 tree species. The core 1ha plot is located near the south-western corner of the 25ha plot. In 2013, a 40m flux tower was established adjacent to the plot.

Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat (62)

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Site name: Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat
Site number: 62
Point numbers: 245 (Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat Dry A), 246 (Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat Wet A), 247 (Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat Wet B), 248 (Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat Dry B)
Ecoregion: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Participant and site owner: The University of Melbourne, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Wombat State Forest, Victoria
Latitude: -37.420
Longitude: 144.100
Site description: The Victorian Dry Eucalypt: Wombat site is a TERN SuperSite located in the Wombat State Forest (near Ballarat) and managed by the University of Melbourne.

Wombat State Forest is dominated by Messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua), Broad-leaf Peppermint (Eucalyptus dives), Narrow-leaf Peppermint (Eucalyptus radiata), Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) and Candlebark (Eucalyptus rubida). Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus ovata) and Yarra Gum (Eucalyptus yarraensis) are also present.

The native fauna of Wombat State Forest consists of mammals, including the Greater Glider (Petauroides volans), reptiles, amphibians and birds. Threatened bird species such as the Great Egret, Grey Goshawk, Australian Masked Owl and Powerful Owl, are found in the area.

The on-site OzFlux eddy covariance tower monitors ecosystem fluxes of energy, water and carbon dioxide above-ground, while below-ground measurements are obtained using six fully automated Green House Gas chambers that are connected to a Fourier Transformed Infrared gas analysis system.

Great Western Woodlands (58)

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Site name: Great Western Woodlands
Site number: 58
Point numbers: 229 (Great Western Woodlands Dry A), 230 (Great Western Woodlands Wet A), 231 (Great Western Woodlands Wet B), 232 (Great Western Woodlands Dry B)
Ecoregion: Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrubs
Participant and site owner: CSIRO, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: South Western Australia
Latitude: -30.125
Longitude: 120.375
Site description: The Great Western Woodlands (GWW) comprises a 16-million hectare mosaic of temperate woodland, heathland and mallee vegetation in south-west Western Australia. It is the largest remaining intact temperate or ‘Mediterranean’ woodland in the world and is unique in being able to survive on as little as 250 mm annual rainfall. The SuperSite site comprises a mosaic of temperate woodland, heathland and Mallee vegetation.

The region has remained relatively intact since European settlement, owing to the variable rainfall and lack of readily accessible groundwater. Other temperate woodlands around the world have become highly fragmented and degraded through agricultural use.

The GWW thus provides a unique opportunity to study how semi-arid woodland ecosystems function at site and landscape scales, and how naturally functioning, intact ecosystems can adapt to climate change. The woodlands also offer significant potential to inform climate-resilient restoration of the Western Australian wheatbelt.

Research at GWW is managed by CSIRO in collaboration with the Department of Parks and Wildlife WA, land managers and Traditional Owners, and is home to the Great Western Woodland TERN SuperSite.

Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt (60)

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Site name: Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt
Site number: 60
Point numbers: 237 (Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt Dry A), 238 (Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt Wet A), 239 (Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt Dry B), 240 (Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt Wet B)
Ecoregion: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Participant and site owner: CSIRO, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Bago State Forest, New South Wales
Latitude: -35.650
Longitude: 148.100
Site description: Tumbarumba, in the Bago State Forest is one of the few southern hemisphere sites that has provided records for longer than a decade of the weather, climate, net uptake of CO2 and loss of water via evapotranspiration. Bago is a managed, open wet sclerophyll eucalyptus forest, and the partnership between OzFlux and the Australian SuperSite Network is expected to improve understanding of how logging practices affect the amount of carbon and water entering, stored in and leaving the forest, and how these factors in turn influence the ecosystem as a whole.

Apart from continuously measuring the exchanges of carbon dioxide and water vapour between the forest and the atmosphere, Tumbarumba has been the site of various intensive measurement campaigns to improve our understanding on how airflow, terrain and forest structure affect the way the ecosystem takes up and releases carbon and uses water. As part of this effort CSIRO has carried out independent measurements of carbon pools, stocks and turnover rates. These measurements, along with atmospheric fluxes, have been used to improve the surface–vegetation–atmospheric–transfer (SVAT) models. SVAT models describe how energy, carbon and water are exchanged between land and atmosphere, and Tumbarumba has played a major role in improving SVAT modelling in Australia over the last decade.

Tumbarumba has also been a key site for measuring the important effects that vegetation has on the lower atmosphere, including the exchange of heat, and the production of particles and chemical species that are highly reactive and contribute to the formation of aerosols. A large international campaign provided measurements of the characteristics and dynamics of atmospheric ions, aerosol particles, and their precursors.

Detailed observations on leaf area index taken from both hemispherical photography and forest structure measurements using Echidna have been used to evaluate plant growth and canopy cover. Echidna is a ground-based laser that scans a full hemisphere from a point on the forest floor and is used for ecological assessment and to estimate wood volume and forest growth. This is complemented by data on above-ground biomass taken through airborne LIDAR surveys carried out by AusCover. The LIDAR data, in combination with hyperspectral data, offer the means to look at forest disturbance after harvest.

Gingin (57)

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Site name: Gingin
Site number: 57
Point numbers: 225 (Gingin Dry A), 226 (Gingin Dry B), 227 (Gingin Wet B), 228 (Gingin Wet A)
Ecoregion: Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrubs
Participant and site owner: Edith Cowan University, The University of Western Australia, CSIRO, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: South Western Australia
Latitude: -31.376
Longitude: 115.714
Site description: Gingin Banksia Woodland TERN SuperSite is located on the Swan Coastal Plain, approximately 10 km southwest of Gingin, near Perth, Western Australia, sited on land traditionally owned by the Yued group of the Noongar people. The site has an elevation of 51 m and 2 km from the University of Western Australia International Gravity Wave Observatory.

The Gingin Banksia Woodland SuperSite is located in a natural woodland of high species diversity (overstorey dominated by Banksia spp.) that overlays the Gnangara groundwater mound, Perth’s most important groundwater resource. The mean annual precipitation is 641mm for this coastal heath woodland. The overstorey is dominated by Banksia spp. mainly B. menziesii, B. attenuata, and B. grandis with a height of around 7 m and leaf area index of about 0.8. There are occasional stands of eucalypts and acacia that reach to 10 m and have a denser foliage cover.

There are many former wetlands dotted around the woodland, most of which were inundated all winter and some had permanent water 30 years ago. The water table has now fallen below the base of these systems and they are disconnected and are no longer permanently wet. The fine sediments, sometimes diatomaceous, hold water and they have perched water tables each winter. There is a natural progression of species accompanying this process as they gradually become more dominated by more xeric species.

The soils are mainly Podosol sands, with low moisture holding capacity. Field capacity typically about 8 to 10%, and in summer these generally hold less than 2% moisture. The water table is at about 8.5 m below the surface, and a WA Dept of water long-term monitoring piezometer is near the base of the OzFlux tower.

Calperum Mallee (56)

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Site name: Calperum Mallee
Site number: 56
Point numbers: 221 (Calperum Mallee Dry A), 222 (Calperum Mallee Dry B), 223 (Calperum Mallee Wet B), 224 (Calperum Mallee Wet A)
Ecoregion: Deserts and xeric shrublands
Participant and site owner: The University of Adelaide, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: River Murray floodplains on Calperum Station, near Renmark South Australia
Latitude: -29.383
Longitude: 140.728
Site description: The Calperum Mallee TERN SuperSite is in the mallee semi-arid ecosystem, fringing the River Murray floodplains on Calperum Station, near Renmark South Australia. The area comprises undulating mallee woodlands and riverine vegetation that fringes the River. All areas are in the process of recovering from extensive grazing.

The Calperum Mallee TERN SuperSite has established and reinforced research infrastructure that can measure and monitor the condition of a nationally iconic region. This SuperSite is part of the Australian Flux Network Project and will build on and strengthen existing ecosystem monitoring, grazing and floodplain restoration experiments and link with in-stream water quantity and quality measurements and is an OzFlux energy, carbon and water monitoring site.

The SuperSite is investigating fluxes of water vapour and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere, upper soil layers and groundwater as well as monitoring the changes in vegetation and dependent biota associated with the different ecosystems of the site.

Boyagin Nature Reserve (55)

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Site name: Boyagin Nature Reserve
Site number: 55
Point numbers: 217 (Boyagin Dry A), 218 (Boyagin Dry B), 219 (Boyagin Wet A), 220 (Boyagin Wet B)
Ecoregion: Mediterranean forests, woodlands and scrubs
Participant and site owner: University of Western Australia, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: South Western Australia
Latitude: -32.471
Longitude: 116.863
Site description: The Boyagin Wandoo Woodland SuperSite was established in the Boyagin Nature Reserve in September 2017 by the University of Western Australia. The Boyagin Nature Reserve lies approximately 12 km west of Pingelly, Western Australia. The SuperSite monitoring activities complement the Avon River Catchment Critical Zone Observatory at the UWA Future Farm in Pingelly that focuses on managed landscapes (rotational dryland wheat cropping and grazing pastures for sheep). The climate is Semi-arid (Dry) Warm Mediterranean.

The site provides nationally consistent observations of vegetation dynamics, faunal biodiversity, micrometeorology (climate, radiation, fluxes of carbon and water), hydrology and biogeochemistry to examine the impacts of disturbance, climate on carbon stocks and Green House Gas emissions, and impacts on habitat quality via ongoing monitoring of vegetation structure and fauna. A wide range of ground based observations of vegetation structure and floristics is planned and all will link to remote sensing of fire and vegetation change over time. Measurements of carbon sequestration through time will be achieved via the TERN OzFlux instrumentation capable of directly measuring CO2, water use and surface energy properties (energy balance, reflectance).

Boyagin SuperSite is located in the Avon Wheatbelt (AW2-Re-juvenated Drainage subregion) and has a high density of rare and geographically restricted flora and supports populations of several marsupials subject to fox predation (Numbat, Quenda, Woylie, Tammar, Red-tailed Phascogale, Brushtail Possum) that have disappeared from most of the Australian or Western Australian mainland.

Cumberland Plain (53)

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Site name: Cumberland Plain
Site number: 53
Point numbers: 209 (Cumberland Dry A), 210 (Cumberland Wet A), 211 (Cumberland Dry B), 212 (Cumberland Wet B)
Ecoregion: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Participant and site owner: University of Western Sydney, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury campus, Richmond, New South Wales
Latitude: -33.700
Longitude: 150.700
Site description: The Cumberland Plain TERN SuperSite is located in remnant Eucalyptus woodland in the Cumberland Plain, at the University of Western Sydney’s Hawkesbury campus in Richmond, New South Wales. Associated research extends into the Blue Mountains ecoregion. These sclerophyll woodlands occur on nutrient-poor alluvium deposited by the Nepean River from sandstone and shale bedrock in the Blue Mountains. Despite this they support high regional biodiversity and endemic biota.

Cumberland Plain woodland is a critically endangered ecological community found only in the Sydney Basin Bioregion. It faces major pressures including invasive weeds, altered fire regimes, Western Sydney’s urban development, conversion to agriculture, and extreme climate events.

Litchfield Savanna (52)

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Site name: Litchfield Savanna
Site number: 52
Point numbers: 205 (Litchfield Dry A), 206 (Litchfield Wet A), 207 (Litchfield Wet B), 208 (Litchfield Dry B)
Ecoregion: Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands
Participant and site owner: Adelaide University, Australian Landscape Trust, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Northern Territory
Latitude: -13.170
Longitude: 130.790
Site description: The Litchfield Savanna TERN SuperSite represents high rainfall, frequently burnt, tropical savanna. At 1.9 million square kilometres, tropical savanna is the dominant ecosystem type across northern Australia. Understanding biogeochemical cycles, impacts of fire on sequestration, vegetation and fauna is a national priority.

The Litchfield Savanna TERN SuperSite is a 5 km x 5 km block of relatively uniform open-forest savanna inside Litchfield National Park, and about 80 km south of Darwin. In the Northern Territory, savanna ecosystems are largely intact in terms of tree cover, with only modest levels of land use change. Despite this, there is evidence of a loss of biodiversity, most likely due to shifts in fire regimes and a loss of patchiness in the landscape. Approximately 40% of the savanna burn every year and understanding fire impacts on fauna and flora is essential for effective land management.

Alice Mulga (54)

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Site name: Alice Mulga
Site number: 54
Point numbers: 213 (Alice Mulga Dry A), 214 (Alice Mulga Wet A), 215 (Alice Mulga Dry B), 216 (Alice Mulga Wet B)
Ecoregion: Deserts and xeric shrublands
Participant and site owner: University of Technology Sydney, CSIRO, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Pine Hill Cattle Station, Northern Territory
Latitude: -22.300
Longitude: 133.200
Site description: The Alice Mulga TERN SuperSite is located on Pine Hill Cattle Station approximately 200 km north of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It lies in the expansive arid and semi-arid portion of mainland Australia that receives less than 500 mm of annual rainfall. The site includes Mulga woodland, hummock grassland, and River Red Gum forest. The SuperSite Core 1 ha is located in a dense Mulga woodland (cover 70–80%).

Daintree Rainforest Observatory (50)

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Site name: Daintree Rainforest Observatory
Site number: 50
Point numbers: 197 (DRO Dry A), 198 (DRO Dry B), 199 (DRO Wet A), 200 (DRO Wet B)
Ecoregion: Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Participant and site owner: James Cook University, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Far North Queensland
Latitude: -16.106
Longitude: 145.378
Site description: The Daintree Rainforest Observatory (DRO) is located 120 km north of Cairns on Cape Tribulation. The site hosts part of the Daintree Rainforest SuperSite for the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network .The DRO is comprised of long-term monitoring sites, a canopy crane and extensive researcher and teaching infrastructure. The DRO is situated adjacent to the World Heritage listed Daintree National Park, and home to many endemic tropical plant and animal species.

Mitchell Grass Rangeland (59)

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Site name: Mitchell Grass Rangeland
Site number: 59
Point numbers: 233 (Mitchell Grass Rangeland Dry A), 234 (Mitchell Grass Rangeland Wet A), 235 (Mitchell Grass Rangeland Dry B), 236 (Mitchell Grass Rangeland Wet B)
Ecoregion: Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas and shrublands
Participant and site owner: Queensland University of Technology, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: Western Queensland
Latitude: -23.523
Longitude: 144.311
Site description: The Mitchell Grass Rangeland site has been established near Longreach in Western Queensland. Mitchell Grass Rangeland is a TERN SuperSite managed by the Queensland University of Technology. The site is located on an actively grazed cattle and sheep property recently affiliated with the Longreach Pastoral College, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries Rosebank Research Station and several CSIRO research programs. Mitchell Grass Rangelands are defined by mostly treeless plains with occasional ridges, rivers and gorges. Curly Mitchell Grass (Astrebla lappacea), Bull Mitchell Grass (Astrebla squarrosa) and Hoop Mitchell Grass (Astrebla elymoides) are the dominant vegetation in the area. A low overstorey of Gidgee (Acacia cambagei) and other tree and shrub species may be found in some places.

The site’s two dry acoustic sensors are located on open grassy plains dominated by Mitchell Grass tussocks. The site’s two wet acoustic sensors are located along creek and drainage lines fringed with Coolabah (Eucalyptus coolabah) and River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis).

Samford Ecological Research Facility (64)

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Site name: Samford Ecological Research Facility (South-East Queensland Peri-Urban Samford)
Site number: 64
Point numbers: 253 (SERF Dry A), 254 (SERF Wet A), 255 (SERF Dry B), 256 (SERF Wet B)
Ecoregion: Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Participant and site owner: Queensland University of Technology, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network
Site location: South-East Queensland
Latitude: -27.388
Longitude: 152.878
Site description: The Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF) is a 51 hectare property located in subtropical Queensland, hosting the South-East Queensland Peri-Urban TERN SuperSite. SERF is situated in a broadly fragmented landscape, shaped by historical cattle grazing, logging and agriculture, and recent residential development. The site protects threatened and endangered ecosystems within a mosaic of remnant native vegetation and cleared pasture.

The site’s two dry acoustic sensors are located in open eucalypt woodland growing on soils derived from weathered granite. These forests are dominated by Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia), Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus siderophloia), Swamp Box (Lophostemon suaveolens), and Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis).

SERF’s two wet acoustic sensors are located in notophyll vine forest on alluvial plains. This vegetation community has been heavily cleared over the past 150 years, with SERF protecting one of the few remaining intact examples growing along the banks of Samford Creek. Dominant vine forest species include Native Elm (Aphananthe philippinensis),White Kamala(Mallotus discolor), White Cedar (Melia azedarach), Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii), and Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).

Both vegetation communities are home to a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, many of which are audible and readily detected by acoustic sensors.