scholarly journals The photosynthetic pathways of plant species surveyed in Australia’s national terrestrial monitoring network

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha E. M. Munroe ◽  
Francesca A. McInerney ◽  
Jake Andrae ◽  
Nina Welti ◽  
Greg R. Guerin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Photosynthetic Pathway ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Photosynthetic Pathways ◽  
Terrestrial Environments

AbstractThe photosynthetic pathway of plants is a fundamental trait that influences terrestrial environments from the local to global level. The distribution of different photosynthetic pathways in Australia is expected to undergo a substantial shift due to climate change and rising atmospheric CO2; however, tracking change is hindered by a lack of data on the pathways of species, as well as their distribution and relative cover within plant communities. Here we present the photosynthetic pathways for 2428 species recorded across 541 plots surveyed by Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) between 2011 and 2017. This dataset was created to facilitate research exploring trends in vegetation change across Australia. Species were assigned a photosynthetic pathway using published literature and stable carbon isotope analysis of bulk tissue. The photosynthetic pathway of species can be extracted from the dataset individually, or used in conjunction with vegetation surveys to study the occurrence and abundance of pathways across the continent. This dataset will be updated as TERN’s plot network expands and new information becomes available.

scholarly journals The photosynthetic pathways of plant species surveyed in Australia’s national terrestrial monitoring network

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Munroe ◽  
Francesca A McInerney ◽  
Jake Andrae ◽  
Nina Welti ◽  
Greg Guerin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Monitoring Network ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Photosynthetic Pathway ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Photosynthetic Pathways

The photosynthetic pathway of plants is a fundamental trait that influences terrestrial environments from the local to global level. The abundance of different photosynthetic pathways in Australia is expected to undergo a substantial shift due to climate change and rising atmospheric CO2; however, tracking change is hindered by a lack of data on the pathways of species, as well as their distribution and relative cover within plant communities. Here we present the photosynthetic pathways for 2428 species recorded across 541 plots surveyed by Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) between 2011 and 2017. This dataset was created to facilitate research exploring trends in vegetation change across Australia. Species were assigned a photosynthetic pathway using published literature and stable carbon isotope analysis of bulk tissue. The photosynthetic pathway of species can be extracted from the dataset individually, or used in conjunction with vegetation surveys to study the occurrence and abundance of pathways across the continent. This dataset will be updated as TERN’s plot network expands and new information becomes available. This manuscript is currently in review with the journal "Scientific Data" and was submitted on 17/11/2020

Building Australia’s Scalable Drone Cloud

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Klump ◽  
Tim Brown ◽  
Rohan Clarke ◽  
Robert Glasgow ◽  
Steve Micklethwaite ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Management ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Plant Phenomics

<p>Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), commonly known as drones, provide sensing capabilities that address the critical scale-gap between ground- and satellite-based observations. Their versatility allows researchers to deliver near-real-time information for society.</p><p>Key to delivering RPA information is the capacity to enable researchers to systematically collect, process, manage and share RPA-borne sensor data. Importantly, this should allow vertical integration across scales and horizontal integration across different RPA deployments. However, as an emerging technology, the best practice and standards are still developing and the large data volumes collected during RPA missions can be challenging.</p><p>Australia’s Scalable Drone Cloud (ASDC) aims to coordinate and standardise how scientists from across earth, environmental and agricultural research manage, process and analyse data collected by RPA-borne sensors, by establishing best practices in managing 3D-geospatial data and aligned with the FAIR data principles.</p><p>The ASDC is building a cloud-native platform for research drone data management and analytics, driven by exemplar data management practices, data-processing pipelines, and search and discovery of drone data. The aim of the platform is to integrate sensing capabilities with easy-to-use storage, processing, visualisation and data analysis tools (including computer vision / deep learning techniques) to establish a national ecosystem for drone data management.</p><p>The ASDC is a partnership of the Monash Drone Discovery Platform, CSIRO and key National Collaborative Research Infrastructure (NCRIS) capabilities including the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF), Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), and AuScope.</p><p>This presentation outlines the roadmap and first proof-of-concept implementation of the ASDC.</p>

scholarly journals A spatial-temporal continuous dataset of the transpiration to evapotranspiration ratio in China from 1981–2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongen Niu ◽  
Honglin He ◽  
Gaofeng Zhu ◽  
Xiaoli Ren ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Energy Budgets ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The ratio of plant transpiration to total terrestrial evapotranspiration (T/ET) captures the role of vegetation in surface-atmosphere interactions. However, several studies have documented a large variability in T/ET. In this paper, we present a new T/ET dataset (also including transpiration, evapotranspiration data) for China from 1981 to 2015 with spatial and temporal resolutions of 0.05° and 8 days, respectively. The T/ET dataset is based on a model-data fusion method that integrates the Priestley-Taylor Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PT-JPL) model with multivariate observational datasets (transpiration and evapotranspiration). The dataset is driven by satellite-based leaf area index (LAI) data from GLASS and GLOBMAP, and climate data from the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN). Observational annual T/ET were used to validate the model, with R2 and RMSE values were 0.73 and 0.07 (12.41%), respectively. The dataset provides significant insight into T/ET and its changes over the Chinese terrestrial ecosystem and will be beneficial for understanding the hydrological cycle and energy budgets between the land and the atmosphere.

scholarly journals ecoEd: Cohesive training and skill development for digital ecoscience tools

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chantal Huijbers
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Skill Development ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Industry Professionals

Digital research infrastructures such as data portals and virtual laboratories enable easier access to data and analytical tools. Such infrastructures are essential to deliver research excellence that drives innovation, but we also need to ensure that we have a skilled workforce that can use these infrastructures. Therefore, training and skill development of students, researchers, government practitioners and industry professionals is key to the long-term success of this investment. In Australia, a suite of digital infrastructures has been developed for environmental sciences to enhance our understanding of the natural world and making forward projections into novel conditions (e.g. Atlas of Living Australia, Biodiversity and Climate Change Virtual Laboratory, ecocloud, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network). To provide users with a holistic approach to environmental spatial data discovery and analysis, these infrastructures have joined forces to deliver an exciting and innovative new training program. This program, called ecoEd, provides cohesive training and skill development to university lecturers, researchers and industry professionals enabling them to combine theoretical concepts with real-world applications. In this presentation, I will present how ecoEd was developed and the outcomes of the training sessions in which a group of ecoEd Champions absorbed ready-to-use lecture and workshop modules along with tools and knowledge on how to use the platforms. These resources can immediately be used in undergraduate courses that focus on topics such as ecology, biogeography, conservation biology, environmental management and spatial analysis as well as in stand alone workshops for researchers and practitioners. The training program aims to provide the Champions with the resources and knowledge required so that they can confidently re-deliver the lectures and workshops in their own institutions. As such, ecoEd is increasing the capacity of Australia’s environmental science community to advance science and deliver outcomes that underpin the sustainable use of our ecosystems using the latest advances in digital technologies. Moreover, it is enabling first-rate science education in Australia by supporting and nurturing our future scientists.

scholarly journals Experimental Design and Interpretation of Terrestrial Ecosystem Studies Using 15N Tracers: Practical and Statistical Considerations

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Schleppi ◽  
Wim W. Wessel
Keyword(s):  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Plant Litter ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
N Cycle ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Ecosystem Studies

The stable isotope 15N is an extremely useful tool for studying the nitrogen (N) cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. The affordability of isotope-ratio mass spectrometry has increased in the last decades and routine measurements of δ15N with an accuracy better than 1‰ are now easily achieved. Except perhaps for wood, which has a very high C/N ratio, isotope analysis of samples is, thus, no longer the main challenge in measuring the partitioning of 15N used as tracer in ecosystem studies. The central aim of such experiments is to quantitatively determine the fate of N after it enters an ecosystem, mainly as fertilizer, as atmospheric deposition or as plant litter. By measuring how much of this incoming N goes into different ecosystem pools, inferences can be made about the entire N cycle. Sample collection and preparation can be tedious work. Optimizing sampling schemes is thus an important aspect in the application of 15N in ecosystem research and can be helpful for obtaining a high precision of the results with the available manpower and budget. In this contribution, we combine statistical and practical considerations and give recommendations for the design of labeling experiments and also for assessments of natural 15N abundance. In particular, we discuss soil, vegetation and water sampling. We additionally address the most common questions arising during the calculation of tracer partitioning, and we provide some examples of the interpretation of experimental results.

Biodiversity and Environmental Change

2014 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Australian Continent ◽  
Long Term Ecological Research

This data-rich book demonstrates the value of existing national long-term ecological research in Australia for monitoring environmental change and biodiversity. Long-term ecological data are critical for informing trends in biodiversity and environmental change. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) is a major initiative of the Australian Government and one of its key areas of investment is to provide funding for a network of long-term ecological research plots around Australia (LTERN). LTERN researchers and other authors in this book have maintained monitoring sites, often for one or more decades, in an array of different ecosystems across the Australian continent – ranging from tropical rainforests, wet eucalypt forests and alpine regions through to rangelands and deserts. This book highlights some of the temporal changes in the environment that have occurred in the various systems in which dedicated field-based ecologists have worked. Many important trends and changes are documented and they often provide new insights that were previously poorly understood or unknown. These data are precisely the kinds of data so desperately needed to better quantify the temporal trajectories in the environment in Australia. By presenting trend patterns (and often also the associated data) the authors aim to catalyse governments and other organisations to better recognise the importance of long-term data collection and monitoring as a fundamental part of ecologically-effective and cost-effective management of the environment and biodiversity.

Sheep Faeces Under Shearing Sheds: a Documentary of Vegetation Change Using Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis.

1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
GB Witt ◽  
EJ Moll ◽  
RJS Beeton
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Isotope ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
North West ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotope Analysis ◽  
Carbon Isotope Analysis ◽  
A New Technique

In this study we report on a new technique for reconstructing long-tgrm vegetation changes in the Australian rangelands. Sheep faeces, which accumulate annually beneath shearing sheds, provide an untapped and potentially continuous record of vegetation change at a property scale. From stable carbon isotope analysis, inferences about the available vegetation can be made. Our analysis revealed vegetation changes slnce the construction of two sheds, a period of approximately 40 years. Results indicated a significant reduction in the availability of C, grasses on Currawinya (south-west Queensland). However, for the same period there was no significant change in proportion of C, and C, species contributing to the diet of sheep on Talyealye (north-west New South Wales). Given the abundance, age and distribution of shearing sheds in the Australian rangelands, the potential exists to reconstruct a detailed picture of vegetation change at a national scale.

Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network

2017 ◽  
pp. 427-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Thurgate ◽  
Andrew J. Lowe ◽  
Timothy F. Clancy
Keyword(s):  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecosystem Research

scholarly journals A story of data won, data lost and data re-found: the realities of ecological data preservation

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Specht ◽  
Matthew Bolton ◽  
Bryn Kingsford ◽  
Raymond Specht ◽  
Lee Belbin
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Status ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystem ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ◽  
Ecosystem Research ◽  
Data Preservation ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Cost

This paper discusses the process of retrieval and updating legacy data to allow on-line discovery and delivery. There are many pitfalls of institutional and non-institutional ecological data conservation over the long term. Interruptions to custodianship, old media, lost knowledge and the continuous evolution of species names makes resurrection of old data challenging. We caution against technological arrogance and emphasise the importance of international standards. We use a case study of a compiled set of continent-wide vegetation survey data for which, although the analyses had been published, the raw data had not. In the original study, publications containing plot data collected from the 1880s onwards had been collected, interpreted, digitised and integrated for the classification of vegetation and analysis of its conservation status across Australia. These compiled data are an extremely valuable national collection that demanded publishing in open, readily accessible online repositories, such as the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (http://www.tern.org.au) and the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA: http://www.ala.org.au), the Australian node of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF: http://www.gbif.org). It is hoped that the lessons learnt from this project may trigger a sober review of the value of endangered data, the cost of retrieval and the importance of suitable and timely archiving through the vicissitudes of technological change, so the initial unique collection investment enables multiple re-use in perpetuity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document