Brief description
This dataset provides understorey herbaceous biomass, ground cover and overstorey woody cover response to different fire regimes over a twenty year period at a grassland and open woodland in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. BOTANAL was used to assess understorey herbaceous biomass. Woody canopy cover was derived from digital analysis of oblique aerial imagery taken from a helicopter at the site in 1995 and again in 2013. Woody cover (tree basal area and canopy cover) was also assessed using a bitterlich gauge on BOTANAL ground based transects in 2009. The data could be used to calibrate models of herbaceous growth and woody cover change in response to long term fire. It may be useful for assessing climate change impacts on aboveground carbon sequestration. The fire regimes tested were of varying frequency (every 2, 4 and 6 years) and season (June vs. October) of fire compared to unburnt controls on woody cover and pasture composition. Sites were open to grazing by cattle.Lineage
Data Creation
BOTANAL for herbaceous biomass, Bitterlich gauge for woody cover 2009, aerial image analysis for woody cover 1995 and 2013:
Tothill, J.C., Hargreaves, J., and Jones, R.M. (1978). 'BOTANAL - a comprehensive sampling and computing procedure for estimating pasture yield and composition 1. Field sampling.' (CSIRO: Brisbane, Australia.) Cowley, R.A., Hearnden, M., Joyce, K., Valencia, M., Cowley, T.M., Pettit, C., and Dyer, R.M. (2014 in press). How hot? How often? Getting the fire frequency and timing right for optimal management of woody cover and pasture composition in northern Australian grazed tropical savannas. Kidman Springs Fire Experiment 1993-2013. The Rangeland Journal. Dyer, R.M. (2001). Fire and vegetation management in pasture lands of the Victoria River District, Northern Territory. Masters Thesis, The University of Queensland, Australia.
Method Drift Description:
The BOTANAL method has changed through time 1. Species % yield estimation has altered during the trial. i. Originally up to 5 species were listed, but in 1997 and from 2000 to 2011 up to 6 species were listed. How these species were ranked has evolved through time. ii. From 1993-2005, usually only the top 3 species were ranked for % yield (not direct estimates). The options for ranking for the 1st, 2nd and third largest yielding species were as follows: 1. 100, 0, 0 2. 77, 23, 0 3. 70, 21, 9 4. 45.5, 45.5, 9 5. 34, 33, 33 6. Or very occasionally the 4th spp was also ranked 70, 21, 4.5, 4.5 iii. From 2007, the top three species % yields were directly estimated. iv. In 2009 direct estimates of % spp yield were made on up to 4 species v. In 2011 direct estimates of species yields were made on up to only three species vi. in 2013 direct estimates of % spp yield were made on up to 4 species The direct estimate of % yield is more accurate than ranking yield. Estimating % yield for 4 species will tend to mean more species are individually assessed for yield, but this should not affect statistics through time, as minor species tend to be grouped into functional groups for analysis. 2. Yield was initially estimated (1994 - 2007) as a score between 0 and 60, but is now directly estimated. Grazing score has only been collected since 2007. Related publications with methods listed Cowley, R.A., Hearnden, M., Joyce, K., Valencia, M., Cowley, T.M., Pettit, C., and Dyer, R.M. (2014 in press). How hot? How often? Getting the fire frequency and timing right for optimal management of woody cover and pasture composition in northern Australian grazed tropical savannas. Kidman Springs Fire Experiment 1993-2013. The Rangeland Journal. Dyer, R.M. (2001). Fire and vegetation management in pasture lands of the Victoria River District, Northern Territory. Masters Thesis, The University of Queensland, Australia.
Sampling design:
Completely Randomised
Factorial Designs
Photo Data Capture
Repeated Measures
Systematic Sampling
Flora Sampling Technique:
Oblique aerial photography
Quadrat/Plot/Grid
Measurements:
Derived - Continuous Data
Raw Observations - Categorical Data
Raw Observations - Continuous Data
Measurement Attributes:
Biomass
Cover
Notes
CreditWe at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Meat and Livestock Australia provided funding for the study from 1993 to 2000.
Woody trees and shrubs are increasing in the grazed savannas of northern Australia. This project tested if fire could be used to manage woody cover in grazed savannas. It aims to provide recommendations on the frequency and seasonal timing of burning for effective management of woody cover and pasture composition.
Created: 2014-08-08
Issued: 2022-03-07
Modified: 2024-09-23
Data time period: 1993-10-04 to 2013-10-17
text: The sites are located on the NT Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries' Victoria River Research Station, also known as Kidman Springs, 400 km south of Darwin, Northern Territory Australia, in the semi-arid tropical savannas. The study sites are in 2 paddocks - Conkerberry (open woodland) and Rosewood West (grassland). IBRA region- Ord Victoria plains
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Point-of-truth metadata URL- URI : geonetwork.tern.org.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/cc81869d-e04f-4565-bc54-3d08c37ea091
- global : cc81869d-e04f-4565-bc54-3d08c37ea091
