TERN InfrastructureBuilding new ecological plot infrastructure to

enable Australian science

Stefan Caddy-RetalicDirector, Australian Transect Networkstefan.caddy-retalic@adelaide.edu.au

• A network to provide infrastructure to enable Australian environmental science(i.e. not research, though some capacity for demonstration projects)

• Building hard and soft infrastructure powerful enough to help answer big ecological questions

• Improving networks across ecosystem science community (écologistes sans frontières)

• Data and products to be made freely available• Empowering researchers and environmental

managers• A service to be utilised

Rationale: What is TERN?

• AusPlots– Forests– Rangelands

• Australian Transect Network• Australian Super Site Network• Long Term Ecological Plot Network (LTERN)• Lots of other TERN facilities that are not plot-

based (e.g. OzFlux, AusCover, Eco-Informatics, eMast, Coasts etc)

TERN Plot Networks

• Rangelands81% of Australia, least studied regions, >decadal cycles

• AusPlots designed to form a network of reference sites to be used as baseline data and for monitoring/trajectory projection and management.

• Most sites “best on offer”• Include some of the most remote regions in

Australia – therefore difficult (and expensive) for many researchers to access.

AusPlots Rangelands

Developing transects that are:• Subcontinental scale• Cross multiple IBRA bioregions• Traverse environmental gradients (e.g.

temperature, rainfall, land use)• Complement other TERN facilities (AusPlots,

LTERN, Super Sites, AusCover)• Uses AusPlots Rangelands & other methodologies

Australian Transect Network

• 1 ha (100mx100m)• 1010 point intercepts (substrate, multi strata veg)• Plant vouchers for each species

Herbarium ID plus additional tissue for genetic and isotopic analysis (extra material for dominant spp)

• 1x 1m+ soil characterisationColour, texture, EC, pH, lithology etc

• 9x 30cm soil characterisationIncluding soil crust for metabarcoding analysis

• Basal area• Tri-photo point panoramas (Ben’s talk)• Leaf Area Index

AusPlots & ATN Sites

Status to dateAusPlots ForestsAusPlots RangelandsSWATT TransectTREND Transect

332 sites surveyedwith APR method

16 sites surveyedwith APF method

• Methodology published• Training workshops held in SA & WA• Field collection app developed• Pipeline between field collection and data repository established• Data publishing pathways operational• Data published for ~100 sites in ÆKOS• Data published in Soils 2 Satellites• ~10,000 plant specimens ID’d by regional herbaria• ~4 tonnes of soil deposited in National Soil Archive• Genetic and isotopic samples available to research community

Status to date

• Targeted at general users(including scientists browsing)

• Demonstration datavisualisation tool w/ ALA& TERN Eco-Informatics

• Users can get a sense ofsite attributes including:Landform, soils, veg compositionand structure, soil metabarcoding

• Currently ~30 sites available (intend to upload many more).

Using Data: Soils 2 Satelliteswww.soils2satellites.org.au

• Targeted at scientists andmodellers

• Data fully described• All data available for

download• Suitable for new or

combined analysis• Currently ~100 AusPlots/

ATN sites available in data portal• Data for ~100,000 other plots nationally

Using Data: ÆKOSwww.aekos.org.au

• 332 sites of:– Pressed herbarium specimens (ID, morphology etc)– Dried leaf vouchers (DNA, isotopes, chemical analysis)– Soil samples (chemical and physical characterisation)– Surface crusts (DNA, soil microbiology, metabarcoding)

• Samples are available to researchers– Projects likely to yield results of maximal utility to the

research and management community will be prioritised– Subject to “share alike” principle

Using Samples

• TERN is charged with developing scientific infrastructure to enable the Australian (and global) ecosystem science community

• All TERN products will be made (or are already) freely availableData, software code, sample collections, etc

• We want to work with you• New partnerships are welcome• Help us get better at serving you

Take Home Messages

Questions?

stefan.caddy-retalic@adelaide.edu.auUAdel: (+61) 8 8313 1257