TERN’s Ecosystem Surveillance platform provides the data, methods, field samples, networks, apps, training and opportunities and advice needed for improved monitoring and assessment of Australia’s major ecosystems. All outputs are freely available to anyone who would like to use them.
This field trip provides an overview of the TERN ecological surveillance plot-based monitoring methods and techniques. We will visit one of the 700+ plots Australia wide, provide an overview of how the plot location was selected, and run-through all the techniques used to mark the plot, and collect vegetation and soil measures. Participants will obtain hands-on practical experience in the standardised, nationally accepted techniques, including plot layout and positioning using DGPS (or equivalent), photopoints, vascular plant vouchering, genetics and isotope sample vouchering, point intercept transects, basal area calculations, leaf area index, soil pit descriptions including soil characterisations and bulk density sampling, soil metagenomic sampling, plot disturbance, landform and vegetation community descriptions.
