Victorian Alpine Plot Network (Alpine Summit Plots): Vegetation Life-form Data, South-East Highlands, Australia, 2017

• Other Authors: Dr Carl-Henrik A Wahren (hasAssociationWith), Dr John Morgan (hasAssociationWith), Ary Hoffmann (hasAssociationWith)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Australian National University
• Subjects: ECOLOGY; BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; PLANTS; EARTH SCIENCE; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION; ALPINE/TUNDRA; BIOSPHERE; TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Vegetation structure; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species composition; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Plant species abundance; LTERN Monitoring Theme:Individual plants; keyword:Species richness; keyword:Alpine National Park; keyword:Alpine summits; keyword:Dominant classes; keyword:Compositional changes; Victorian Alpine; Summit Plots; Vegetation – Life Form Cover; Tundra
• Online Access: https://researchdata.edu.au/victorian-alpine-plot-australia-2017/1360524; https://datacommons.anu.edu.au/DataCommons/item/anudc:5876; https://doi.org/10.25911/5c33fc548e79c

Abstract: This Victorian Alpine Plot Network Vegetation Life Form Data Package comprises line intercept data for alpine mountain summits in the Australian Alps. For each mountain summit, four varying length permanent transects have been established. These transects extend downslope, along each cardinal and inter-cardinal directions, to a point situated 5 altitudinal metres below the summit. Along each transect, plant and substrate attributes recorded include dominant life form classes, the ‘presence’ of dominant plant species and substrate ‘type’ when vegetation is absent. This study, which commenced in 2001, forms part of the collection of data packages by the Victorian Alpine Plot Network. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network’s full program is provided at https//doi.org/10.25911/5c11c3d283b0e. Sampling method: A global climate change and mountain environments monitoring network - The Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA; http://www.gloria.ac.at) - was established in 2001 to detect long-term vegetation change on alpine mountain summits. Observations focus on changes in species richness with respect to local temperatures and altitude. Five mountain summit survey sites were established in the Kosciuszko National Park in 2004 and several in the Victorian Alpine National Park in 2006. There are currently 12 such summits, encompassing the geographic distribution of high alpine summits in the Australian Alps, with each to be surveyed at 5-year intervals. Study extent: No limitations or missing units in temporal coverage have been referred to in the Conceptual Design. Project funding: Australian Geographic and Holsworth Fund. Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.