The presentation provides overview and significance of the TERN long term ecological research network. The presentation was part of the Workshop on Approaches to Terrestrial Ecosystem Data Management : from collection to synthesis and beyond which was held on 9th of March 2016 in University of Queensland.

1. Presentation by Emma Burns, Executive Director

2. Integrated purpose
LTERN’s objective: To integrate key established plot networks across Australia to tackle critical
questions associated with the impacts of disturbance on Australian ecosystems
Australian Government Investment Goal: A sustainable set of long term data collection
procedures and archives from plots across Australian ecosystems measuring selected flora,
fauna and biophysical processes, suitable for key ecosystem science
questions and for developing and testing ecosystem models

3. A research enabler
Infrastructure to allow the research community to:
– Develop a detailed understanding of the behaviour and regulation of key ecosystem
functions and processes, including influence of interacting abiotic and biotic factors on
landscape function.
– Quantify critical relationships between vegetation condition and/or biodiversity and
major disturbance regimes such as those associated with fire, logging, livestock grazing,
invasive species and climate change.
3

4. Spatial distribution of the plot networks
• 12 Plot Networks
• 1,119 sites
• 9 Principle
Investigators/Network
Leaders
• 8 Institutions

5. 33
19
14
33
14
22
12
45
26
22
53
70
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
VICTORIAN TALL EUCALYPT FOREST
NANANGROE PLANTATION
JERVIS BAY BOODEREE NATIONAL PARK
UPLAND HEATH SWAMPS
WOODLAND RESTORATION
MALLEE
DESERT UPLANDS
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
DESERT ECOLOGY
THREE PARKS SAVANNA FIRE-EFFECTS
CONNELL RAINFOREST
VICTORIAN ALPINE
LTERN Plot Network Monitoring Periods (yrs)
7%
9%
23%
19%
11%
42%
23%
36%
15%
36%
26%
15%
% = proportion of time within LTERN (not representative of cost or sampling intensity/complexity within years)

6. LTERN’s Management Committee
Chair
Executive Director, Dr Emma Burns, Australian National University.
Standing Members
Professor David Lindenmayer, Australian National University. Science Director, LTERN and Plot Leader of three plot
networks
Professor David Keith, University of New South Wales. Plot Leader of three plot networks
Dr Dan Metcalfe, CSIRO. Plot Leader of two plot networks
Dr Peter Green, LaTrobe University. Plot Leader of the Connell Rainforest Plot Network
Professor Ary Hoffmann, University of Melbourne. Plot Leader of the Victorian Alpine Plot Network
Professor Glenda Wardle, University of Sydney. Co-Plot Leader of the Desert Ecology Plot Network
Professor Chris Dickman, University of Sydney. Co-Plot Leader of the Desert Ecology Plot Network
Dr Jeremy Russell-Smith, Charles Darwin University. Co-Plot Leader of the Three Parks Savanna Fire-Effects Plot Network
(Fire and Vegetation lead)
Dr Graeme Gillespie, Northern Territory Government, Department of Land Resource Management. Co-Plot Leader of the
Three Parks Savanna Fire-Effects Plot Network (lead)
Governance, planning, transparency and internal communication FIRST= healthy and productive culture

7. LTERN’s Priority Areas
Data collection
Field trips
Surveys
Data Publication and
Archiving
Project data
Historic data
Book data
Science output data
Science Communication
and Education
Publications and
engagement

8. 25 Monitoring Themes

9. The objectives of LTERN, the research-questions being
examined, and the field methodologies being employed have
been published collectively in The Long Term Ecological
Research Network: Objectives, design and methods at
www.tern.org.au/ltern.
Desert storm (Aaron Greenville)
Question-driven research underpins every plot network

10. Data Collection: Plot network locations relative to Eco-Regions

11. Data Collection: Sites within Plot Networks relative to Eco-Regions
165
449
19
278
64
144

12. Data Collection: Plot Networks relative to Land-use categories
49
53
55
200
1
581
180

13. • Established in September 2013
• Using software and standards used by the
international LTER community, DataONE and
the Australian SuperSite Network
• High quality data delivery to permit re-use
• Systems, procedures, priorities and work
flows well tested and documented
• Monitoring statistics on usage established
• No known third-party re-use resulting in a
scientific output yet
Data Publication: describing data so appropriate for re-use

14. Data Publication: volume and download metrics
0 50 100 150 200
project data
background data
science output data
book data
(i) LTERN Data Publications by Year
LTERN Data Publications by Year 2016
LTERN Data Publications by Year 2015
LTERN Data Publications by Year 2014
LTERN Data Publications by Year 2013
• 280 data
publications
available
• 230 registered
users, and
increasing
annually
• 33,000+ site
visits
LTERNDataPublicationsLTERNDataDownloads
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Number of individual data files downloaded
Total downloads (some files downloaded by multiple
people)
Number of registered users
(ii) LTERN data Publication Downloads (Google Analytics)
2015-16
2014-15
2013-14

15. Data Publication: data-user profileLTERNDataPublicationsLTERNDataPortaluserprofile
0 20 40 60 80
Australia
South-east Asia
Europe
Canada
China
India
(i) LTERN User by Country or Region
2016
2015
2014
0 5 10 15 20 25
Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Victoria
Western Australia
(iii) LTERN Australian Users by State
2016
2015
2014
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Academic
Natural resource management
Industry or Consultant
Researcher - University
Professional staff UoA
Student
Research Support
Software Engineer
Other
(iv) LTERN User Occupation by Year
2016
2015
2014
(i) Data-user profile showing country or region of LTERN user.
(iv) User profile showing occupation of LTERN user.(iii) Data-user profile showing state for all Australian users.
• Registered users from all states and
territories
• Limited international use
• Primarily university sector

16. Science Communication and Education
Webpage: www.tern.org.au/ltern
Data Portal: www.ltern.org.au/knb
Brochure
Publications

17. LTERN Publications
Fit-for-purpose, consistent, long-term monitoring is crucial
to measure and understand key attributes of ecosystems—
and the human and natural process that affect them. This
need, its challenges, and their potential solutions have
been written about by members of LTERN in a range of
publications.
Publications

18. Publications Catalogue
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
NumberofPublications
LTERN Publications per Plot Network as of September
2015
• 1,049
publications
generated to
date
• Since
September
2014, 143
new
publications
To provide a central and comprehensive list of all relevant LTERN publications; and to
demonstrate the research productivity of this infrastructure through one type of metric (i.e.
written outputs).

19. Biodiversity and Environmental Change book data project

20. The value of time-series data
Reference: Dickman, C. R., et al. (2014). Desert Complex Environments. In Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction.
E. B. David Lindenmayer, Nicole Thurgate, Andrew Lowe., CSIRO Publishing: 379–438.
The data and stories from the book, and the subset available through the data portal, demonstrate the value of
time-series data and the potential misinterpretations that could result from short-term monitoring

21. From collection to science to policy change
30+ years of data collection from the
Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network,
and hundreds of research papers
IUCN Assessment process and a result. The legacy
of past logging practices, as well as current
clearfelling, is driving the system towards collapse.
Modelling suggests that even if logging ceased
today, and there were no bushfires, there is still a
92% chance of ecosystem collapse
Up listing of the threat status
of leadbeater’s possum from
endangered to critically endangered

22. Mapping linkages – Desert Ecology Plot Network
Example
Data collection
Data Publication and
Archiving
Science Communication
and Education
TERN National International
AEKOSSupersites
TDDPAusCover AusPlots
Droughtnet
ANDS NESP
NuNet
Biodesert

23. Where to from here?
Primary Priority: Continued repeated data collection from across LTERN.
Secondary Priority: Continued publication of data collected and then,
as feasible, publication of the background data. Based on current
funding levels it is estimated that it will take at least 5 years to curate
and publish all our data.
Secondary Priority: A new challenge…..What can the data from within plot networks tell us
collectively? Can multiple datasets collected from different studies for different purposes be
used collectively to test a relevant and important continental scale science question?
Proof of concept project: under a unifying lens of long-term climate data and climate
projections—examine variation and patterns in long-term datasets, and model/predict future
and past variations and patterns.
And of course increased integration with international observatory networks and initiatives.

24. Questions and Acknowledgements
The creation of LTERN and the products it has delivered to date
are the result of the dedication and drive of a number of people
over the last four years. The LTERN Management Committee
acknowledges significant contributions from:
From the office: Claire deLacey, Alvin Sebastien, Christy
Geromboux, Ivan Hanigan, Phil Tennant, John Stein, Wade
Blanchard, Kathryn Allard, Janet McDougal, Karl Bossard, Karen
Anderson, Ian Szarka, Natasha Purvis, Wendy Park, Tabitha Boyer,
Claire Shepherd, and Clive Hilliker.
From the field: David Blair, Matt Bradford, Mason Crane, Alaric
Fisher, Aaron Greenville, Heather Keith, Alan Kwok, Dominique
Lynch, Lachlan McBurney, Chris MacGregor, Tanya Mason,
Damien Michael, John Morgan, David Nelson, Sachiko Okada,
Thea O’Loughlin, Warwick Papst, Chris Pavey, Bobby Tamayo, Eric
Vanderduys, Henrik Wahren, Richard William, Renee Woodward,
and Cameron Yates.
LTERNs viability and productivity has also been possible thanks to
sustained inputs and contributions from many others from across
TERN, and from LTERN’s External Reference Group.