public read uid=green,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org read cn=submitters,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org all Dr Peter Green La Trobe University

Department of Botany La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria 3086 Australia

03 9479 3675 p.green@latrobe.edu.au This data package comprises data from a series of hemispherical photographs taken in July 2013, at the Connell Rainforest Plot near O’Reilly’s Guest House, 85 km south of Brisbane, Queensland. The 2.0 ha site consists of separate 1.0 ha plots separated by 600 m, but they have always been treated as a single entity. The site consists of mapped and tagged trees in all size classes from tiny seedlings to large canopy trees. Rates of recruitment, growth and mortality have been measured at intervals of 1-6 years with records extending back to 1963. The primary determinant of growth rate in the understorey is light. Gaps created by the death of large canopy trees have been systematically surveyed many times over the decades until 2002, with the boundaries of the gaps being noted on hand drawn maps. These maps have never been digitized, and the originals are held at the University of California. Copies of some later maps are held by Green at La Trobe University. 2013 was the first year a digital camera with a fish-eye lens was used to measure understorey light environments along the seedling transects. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Connell Rainforest Plot Network’s full program is provided at http://www.ltern.org.au/index.php/ltern-plot-networks/connell-rainforest. Vegetation structure Plant species abundance Individual plants LTERN Monitoring Themes 0602 Ecology 0599 Other Environmental Sciences ANZSRC-FOR Codes Earth Science > Biosphere > Vegetation Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Community Dynamics Biosphere > Ecological Dynamics > Species/Population Interactions > Population Dynamics Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Forests GCMD Science Keywords CC-BY-4_0 Special Conditions: Prior to publication of research utilising this data - the data provider (Dr Peter Green) requests consultation. Davies Creek National Park, Lamb Range, 25 km SW of Cairns 17 01 53 S, 145 37 32 E (One 1.7 ha plot) 145.622 145.626 -17.0316 -17.0361 2013 1374809101561

Prof Joseph H. Connell (University of California at Santa Barbara) established a long-term forest dynamics plot in 1963, in tropical rainforest at Davies Creek National Park 25 km south west of Cairns. The plot is 1.7 hectare, and was established over an existing an existing 0.4 ha plot established by the Queensland Department of Forestry in 1951. This plot has never been logged. Although a summary of methods employed in the study has been provided below, the reader should refer to a comprehensive description of the methods and the plot configuration provided in the Conceptual Design (p 84) and accompanying documentation. In summary, samples of trees in three broad size classes have been monitored on the plots over several decades. ‘Large trees’ (≥ 10 cm dbh) were first tagged, mapped and measured in 1963 across both plots. At the same time, ‘medium trees’ (2.5 cm dbh but < 10.0 cm dbh) were mapped and tagged along several belt transects 6.1 m wide running through the plot, centred on survey lines 20.1 m apart. The medium-tree belt transects comprise 30% of each plot. In 1965, ‘small trees’ (tiny seedlings to saplings < 2.5 cm dbh), were mapped and tagged along narrower transects either 1.8 or 3.6 m wide, centred on the same survey lines used to sample medium trees. Large trees rooted outside the plot boundaries, but whose canopies extended over the plots have also been monitored. Further details relating to the methods employed by the Connell Rainforest Plot Network during this study can be found on the LTERN Plot Network site. Surveys for canopy cover and understorey light environments Stand structure, canopy cover and variation in understorey light environments have not been measured systematically on the plots. Under LTERN, new surveys for canopy cover and understorey light environments using hemispherical photography are being be incorporated into regular plot monitoring.

The understorey light environment was characterized in October 2013 using a digital camera fitted with a fish-eye lens. The Sony NEX7-2380605 DSLR Compact-269 camera, lens and analytical software were purchased as a package from Regent Instruments Canada Inc (www.regentinstruments.com). The analytical software (WinScanopy 2013a) for Canopy Analysis) is designed to be fully integrated with the camera, and the camera settings were set to the specifications in the WinScanopy user manual. The camera was mounted in a self-levelling gimbal 1.6 m above the ground. Photos were taken at intervals of 12.5 feet along all transects on which seedlings and small saplings are mapped; Lines 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8. The gimbal comes with a an automatic north-finder; in each image, north is indicated by the a small red dot on the edge of each image. Because the plot is small, single values of latitude and longitude were used for all images. The WinScanopy image analysis output is more than 100 data columns wide – only the most useful are included with this data package. See Sampling Description The Davies Creek Plot is a 1.7 hectare plot. The plot was selected by Prof. Joseph H. Connell in 1963 on the advice of his CSIRO collaborators Dr Len Webb and Mr Geoff Tracey, and was chosen for three reasons; it was accessible, it was unlogged, and a smaller 0.4 ha plot belonging to the Queensland Department of Forestry had already been established there in 1951. The Davies Creek plot is one of two plots established by Connell in 1963 – the other is in subtropical rainforest near O’Reilly’s Guesthouse in Lamington National Park, 65 km south of Brisbane. The same sampling methods are employed at both plots, at intervals of 1-6 years. 1374809101561 Data Owner The National Science Foundation was the sole funder of this research between 1963 and 2003. LTERN is the sole funder at present. crft_ground_based_hemispheric_photograph_oreillys_p38t181.csv Connell Rainforest hemespheric photography data from O'Reilly's Creek 2013 crft_ground_based_hemispheric_photograph_oreillys_p38t181.csv 20821 1 #x0A column , ecogrid://knb/ltern2.1083.1 cn=submitters,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org all cn=allusers,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org read cn=pn_connell_rainforest,o=unaffiliated,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org read site Site Identifier Character line Line number (belt transect numeric identifier) Character x_coord X coordinates (ft) Chainage (feet) foot real y_coord Y coordinates (ft) Chainage (feet) foot real filename Name of digital image Character date Date of image acquisition YYYY-MM-DD latitude Latitude used for image analysis degree real longitude Longitude used for image analysis degree real gf Gap fraction number real openess Canopy openess number real dsf Direct site factor number real isf Indirect site factor number real tsf Total site factor number real 242