SuperSite field survey protocol development

Mirko Karan, SuperSites Coordinator

What is a TERN SuperSite?

1) An intensive field station in a typical and important biome

2) Physical instrumentation3) Scientists and technical support staff4) Transect(s) or Contrasts (10-400km)

Question driven, consistent network-wide monitoring

CURRENT STATUS: ecosystem condition, functional patterns and spatial arrangement

- stocks and fluxes of energy, carbon and water

MONITORING: response to environmental change, natural disturbance and human induced disturbance

- ecophysiological responses - changes in community composition

PREDICTIONS: Can environmental thresholds or 'tipping points' be identified and solutions suggested to avoid state change?

Local scientific questions

FNQ Rainforest

SEQ Peri-urban

Evolution of the SuperSites

2011 expansion to 5 SuperSites Collaborative Co-contribution modelExisting research activity and co-contribution, Government supportSignificant Australian biomeTerrain suitable for eddy co-variance flux tower

Australian SuperSite Network Growth

FNQ Rainforest

SEQ Peri-urban

Warra Tall Eucalypt

Calperum Mallee

Great Western Woodland

2012 additional five volunteer SuperSites

Australian SuperSite Network Growth

FNQ Rainforest

SEQ Peri-urban

Cumberland Plain

Tumbarumba Wet EucalyptVictorian Dry Eucalypt

Warra Tall Eucalypt

Calperum Mallee

Alice Mulga

Litchfield Savanna

Great Western Woodland

2014 Network of 10 SuperSites

Australian SuperSite Network Growth

FNQ Rainforest

SEQ Peri-urban

Cumberland Plain EucFACE

Tumbarumba Wet Eucalypt

Victorian Dry Eucalypt

Warra Tall Eucalypt

Calperum Mallee

Alice Mulga

Litchfield Savanna

Great Western Woodland

measures ecosystem fluxes• CO2 (NEE) and water use (ET)• Energy: Radiation (Q) and heat (H, G)

Aerial LiDAR and Hyperspectral surveys PhenocamsDigital Elevation ModelsTerrestrial Laser Scanning

Plant trait / ecophysiology campaign 2010-14

Protocol working groups + alignment with AusPlots protocols

Vegetation core 1 ha plotBiodiversity - Vascular plant list, voucher specimens, genetic sampling

Abundance, Cover, Structure - Structural description - Direct measure stems DBH ≥10

cm, H

DBH <10 cm (forest/rangelands methods)- Standing Above Ground Biomass- Course Woody Debris- Recruitment, seedling transects- Photopoints- Leaf Area Index (DCP/DHP)- Phenocams (ex AusCover)

Protocol Development

Protocol working groups + alignment with AusPlots protocols

FaunaAcoustic Recording

Bird surveys

Ant sampling - pitfall traps

Protocol Development

Protocol working groups + alignment with AusPlots protocols

Soil and waterInitial site and soil characterisation - soil profile OzFlux pit, dry bulk density, soil chem to 1.5m

OzFlux instrumentation - soil temp, moisture

Digital Elevation Model

Core 1 ha physico-chemistry (9 bulked cores 0-10cm, 10-30cm)

Soil metabarcoding

Logging Bore

Stream monitoring

Protocol Development

SuperSite Protocols Current MonitoringPhenocams

Leaf Area Index

Acoustic MonitoringPhotopoints

Campaign ModeSoil microbe metabarcodingLidar, Hyperspectral surveys (AusCover)

Bird surveysAnt samplingBores Vascular plant listRecruitment/seedlings Coarse woody debris

Cosmos sensorsPlant Functional TraitsEcophysiologyCamera traps?tower sensors ?spatial extent?

International ExperimentsNutrient NetworkDroughtNetGlobal Malaise TrappingEarth MicroBiome Project

334 data packages

Allows listening to recordings and download of files

Analysis tools to be added

29 744 files, 19 sites

Phenocamera imagesLeaf Area index imagesPhotopointsPanoramic photopoints

Australian Phenocam Networkhttps://phenocam.org.au/

陆地生态系统生物观测规范

陆地生态系统生物观测规范

陆地生态系统生物观测规范

陆地生态系统生物观测规范

Challenges to address going forward:

- Standardising data formats - template driven- Improving QA QC procedures (data collection, ingestion)- Improving sensors (phenocams, acoustics)- Staffing levels and training in diverse field techniques- Assessing representativeness of plots, repetition- Valuing data set publication / citation to incentivize co-contribution

Collaborations, inter-operability

Within TERN - Calibration/validation (AusCover)- Modelling: eMAST, AusPlots, Transects, LTERN +

International - Calibration / validation (soil moisture, biomass, LAI)- Data use/reuse, modelling

SuperSite extrasPlant ecophysiology (leaf Ps, Resp. water relations)Acoustic recordingCourse woody debrisAntsBores

Comparisons with NEON protocols

SimilaritiesPlots + Remote sensingVegetation (structure/composition)Flux tower sensors (CO2, phenocams etc)Soil sensors (T, moisture)Soil physico-chemistrySoil microbial diversityVegetation diversity and abundanceLeaf Area IndexBird diversity and abundanceStream monitoring

NEON extrasNEON Strategic design - plot locationsCore site + relocatable sitesFlux tower sensors (dust, PAR, isotopes CO2/H2O)Soil sensors (array, CO2, Throughfall etc)Soil coarse and fine root biomassSmall mammalsGround beetlesMosquito (diversity, abundance, phenology, pathogens)Ticks (pathogens)(Litterfall)

NCRIS-2013 Vegetation protocolsCore 1 ha plotVascular plant list - voucher specimensAbundance, Cover, StructureForests - Direct measures (stems ≥ 10 cm DBH); RAINFOR Gentry transects (stems < 10 cm DBH ); seedling transects Rangelands - Direct measures (stems ≥ 10 cm DBH); Basal wedges; Point intercept method (augmented AusPlots)

Biomass - Woody plant DBH, Height, Species, Coarse Woody Debris, Clip plots,

Leaf Area Index - DCP, DHP, Point Intercept Method / clip plots PhotopointsPhenocameras (Auscover/Ozflux) - based on ACEAS workshop 2014

Soil and Water protocolsCore 1 ha plot

Initial site and soil characterisation- Soil pit at flux tower, profile, bulk density, physico-chem analysis- 9 distributed cores for physico-chem analysis

Digital Elevation Model (Auscover)Soil instrumentation (Ozflux)- Soil volumetric water content, soil temp, soil heat flux

Soil metagenomics - 16S Bact/archea; ITS Fungi; 18S Euk/algal (Baseline)

Stream monitoring – flow, pH, N, P, major ions, EC etc

Bore(s) - depth logging, pH, N, P, major ions, EC etc