long term ecological research network
TRANSCRIPT
Presentation by Emma Burns, Executive Director
Integrated purpose
LTERN’s objective: To integrate key established plot networks across Australia to tackle critical
questions associated with the impacts of disturbance on Australian ecosystems
Australian Government Investment Goal: A sustainable set of long term data collection
procedures and archives from plots across Australian ecosystems measuring selected flora,
fauna and biophysical processes, suitable for key ecosystem science
questions and for developing and testing ecosystem models
A research enablerInfrastructure to allow the research community to:
– Develop a detailed understanding of the behaviour and regulation of key ecosystem
functions and processes, including influence of interacting abiotic and biotic factors on
landscape function.
– Quantify critical relationships between vegetation condition and/or biodiversity and
major disturbance regimes such as those associated with fire, logging, livestock grazing,
invasive species and climate change.
3
Spatial distribution of the plot networks
• 12 Plot Networks• 1,119 sites
• 9 Principle Investigators/Network Leaders
• 8 Institutions
Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest
Nanangroe Plantation
Jervis Bay Booderee National Park
Upland Heath Swamps
Woodland Restoration
Mallee
Desert Uplands
Tropical Rainforest
Desert Ecology
Three Parks Savanna Fire-Effects
Connell Rainforest
Victorian Alpine
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
33
19
14
33
14
22
12
45
26
22
53
70
LTERN Plot Network Monitoring Periods (yrs)
7%
9%
23%
19%
11%
42%
23%
36%
15%
36%
26%
15%
% = proportion of time within LTERN (not representative of cost or sampling intensity/complexity within years)
LTERN’s Management Committee
Chair Executive Director, Dr Emma Burns, Australian National University.
Standing MembersProfessor David Lindenmayer, Australian National University. Science Director, LTERN and Plot Leader of three plot
networks
Professor David Keith, University of New South Wales. Plot Leader of three plot networks
Dr Dan Metcalfe, CSIRO. Plot Leader of two plot networks
Dr Peter Green, LaTrobe University. Plot Leader of the Connell Rainforest Plot Network
Professor Ary Hoffmann, University of Melbourne. Plot Leader of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network
Professor Glenda Wardle, University of Sydney. Co-Plot Leader of the Desert Ecology Plot Network
Professor Chris Dickman, University of Sydney. Co-Plot Leader of the Desert Ecology Plot Network
Dr Jeremy Russell-Smith, Charles Darwin University. Co-Plot Leader of the Three Parks Savanna Fire-Effects Plot Network
(Fire and Vegetation lead)
Dr Graeme Gillespie, Northern Territory Government, Department of Land Resource Management. Co-Plot Leader of the
Three Parks Savanna Fire-Effects Plot Network (lead)
Governance, planning, transparency and internal communication FIRST= healthy and productive culture
LTERN’s Priority Areas
Data collection
Field trips
Surveys
Data Publication and Archiving
Project data
Historic data
Book data
Science output data
Science Communication and Education
Publications and engagement
25 Monitoring Themes
The objectives of LTERN, the research-questions being
examined, and the field methodologies being employed have
been published collectively in The Long Term Ecological
Research Network: Objectives, design and methods at
www.tern.org.au/ltern.
Desert storm (Aaron Greenville)
Question-driven research underpins every plot network
Data Collection: Plot network locations relative to Eco-Regions
Data Collection: Sites within Plot Networks relative to Eco-Regions
165449
19278
64144
Data Collection: Plot Networks relative to Land-use categories
49
5355
200
1
581180
• Established in September 2013• Using software and standards used by the
international LTER community, DataONE and the Australian SuperSite Network
• High quality data delivery to permit re-use• Systems, procedures, priorities and work
flows well tested and documented• Monitoring statistics on usage established• No known third-party re-use resulting in a
scientific output yet
Data Publication: describing data so appropriate for re-use
Data Publication: volume and download metrics
project data
background data
science output data
book data
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
(i) LTERN Data Publications by Year
LTERN Data Publications by Year 2016LTERN Data Publications by Year 2015LTERN Data Publications by Year 2014LTERN Data Publications by Year 2013
• 280 data publications available
• 230 registered users, and increasing annually
• 33,000+ site visits
LTER
N D
ata
Publ
icati
ons
LTER
N D
ata
Dow
nloa
ds
Number of individual data files downloaded
Total downloads (some files downloaded by multiple people)
Number of registered users
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
(ii) LTERN data Publication Downloads (Google Analytics)
2015-162014-152013-14
Data Publication: data-user profileLT
ERN
Dat
a Pu
blic
ation
sLT
ERN
Dat
a Po
rtal
use
r pro
file
Australia
South-east Asia
Europe
Canada
China
India
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
(i) LTERN User by Country or Region
201620152014
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Victoria
Western Australia
0 5 10 15 20 25
(iii) LTERN Australian Users by State
201620152014
Academic
Natural resource management
Industry or Consultant
Researcher - University
Professional staff UoA
Student
Research Support
Software Engineer
Other
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
(iv) LTERN User Occupation by Year
201620152014
(i) Data-user profile showing country or region of LTERN user.
(iv) User profile showing occupation of LTERN user. (iii) Data-user profile showing state for all Australian users.
• Registered users from all states and territories
• Limited international use• Primarily university sector
Science Communication and EducationWebpage: www.tern.org.au/ltern
Data Portal: www.ltern.org.au/knb
Brochure
Publications
LTERN Publications
Fit-for-purpose, consistent, long-term monitoring is crucial
to measure and understand key attributes of ecosystems—
and the human and natural process that affect them. This
need, its challenges, and their potential solutions have
been written about by members of LTERN in a range of
publications.
Publications
Publications Catalogue
Collaborative
Cumulative
Victoria
n Tall Euca
lypt F
orest
Nanangroe Plantation
Jervis B
ay Booderee National P
ark
Upland Heath Swamps
Woodland Restoration
Mallee
Tropical R
ainforest
Desert U
plands
Connell Rainforest
Victoria
n Alpine
Desert
Ecology
Three Parks Sava
nna Fire-Effects
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
LTERN Publications per Plot Network as of September 2015
Num
ber o
f Pub
licati
ons
• 1,049 publications generated to date
• Since September 2014, 143 new publications
To provide a central and comprehensive list of all relevant LTERN publications; and to demonstrate the research productivity of this infrastructure through one type of metric (i.e. written outputs).
Biodiversity and Environmental Change book data project
The value of time-series data
Reference: Dickman, C. R., et al. (2014). Desert Complex Environments. In Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction. E. B. David Lindenmayer, Nicole Thurgate, Andrew Lowe., CSIRO Publishing: 379–438.
The data and stories from the book, and the subset available through the data portal, demonstrate the value of time-series data and the potential misinterpretations that could result from short-term monitoring
From collection to science to policy change
30+ years of data collection from theTall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network, and hundreds of research papers
IUCN Assessment process and a result. The legacy of past logging practices, as well as current clearfelling, is driving the system towards collapse. Modelling suggests that even if logging ceased today, and there were no bushfires, there is still a 92% chance of ecosystem collapse
Up listing of the threat status of leadbeater’s possum from endangered to critically endangered
Mapping linkages – Desert Ecology Plot Network Example
Data collection Data Publication and
Archiving Science Communication
and Education
TERN National International
AEKOSSupersites
TDDPAusCover AusPlots
Droughtnet
ANDS NESPNuNet
Biodesert
Where to from here?Primary Priority: Continued repeated data collection from across LTERN.
Secondary Priority: Continued publication of data collected and then, as feasible, publication of the background data. Based on current funding levels it is estimated that it will take at least 5 years to curate and publish all our data.
Secondary Priority: A new challenge…..What can the data from within plot networks tell us collectively? Can multiple datasets collected from different studies for different purposes be used collectively to test a relevant and important continental scale science question?
Proof of concept project: under a unifying lens of long-term climate data and climate projections—examine variation and patterns in long-term datasets, and model/predict future and past variations and patterns.
And of course increased integration with international observatory networks and initiatives.
Questions and AcknowledgementsThe creation of LTERN and the products it has delivered to date are the result of the dedication and drive of a number of people over the last four years. The LTERN Management Committee acknowledges significant contributions from:
From the office: Claire deLacey, Alvin Sebastien, Christy Geromboux, Ivan Hanigan, Phil Tennant, John Stein, Wade Blanchard, Kathryn Allard, Janet McDougal, Karl Bossard, Karen Anderson, Ian Szarka, Natasha Purvis, Wendy Park, Tabitha Boyer, Claire Shepherd, and Clive Hilliker.
From the field: David Blair, Matt Bradford, Mason Crane, Alaric Fisher, Aaron Greenville, Heather Keith, Alan Kwok, Dominique Lynch, Lachlan McBurney, Chris MacGregor, Tanya Mason, Damien Michael, John Morgan, David Nelson, Sachiko Okada, Thea O’Loughlin, Warwick Papst, Chris Pavey, Bobby Tamayo, Eric Vanderduys, Henrik Wahren, Richard William, Renee Woodward, and Cameron Yates.
LTERNs viability and productivity has also been possible thanks to sustained inputs and contributions from many others from across TERN, and from LTERN’s External Reference Group.