Digital Hemispherical Photography (DHP) from TERN Alice Mulga SuperSite

<p>Digital Hemispherical Photography (DHP) upward-looking images to capture vegetation and crown cover are collected two times per year in a 20 m grid within the core hectare plot at the Alice Mulga SuperSite. These images are used to estimate Leaf Area Index (LAI).</p> <p>The Alice Springs Mulga flux station is located on Pine Hill cattle station, approx. 170km north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The woodland is characterised by a mixed <em>Acacia aneura</em> and <em>Acacia aptanura</em> canopy, with a total standing biomass of 32.5 t/ha and median canopy height of 4.3&nbsp;m (tallest trees reach 8.9&nbsp;m height). Elevation of the site is 602&nbsp;m above sea level, and the terrain is flat. Mean annual precipitation at the nearby (45&nbsp;km distant) Bureau of Meteorology station is 311&nbsp;mm - 140&nbsp;mm (1986-2025), but has ranged between 33&nbsp;mm in the hydrological years of 2018/2019 to 712&nbsp;mm in 2016/2017 since the tower is operational. Predominant wind directions are from the southeast and east. The extent of the woodland is 11&nbsp;km to the east of the flux station and 16&nbsp;km to the south. The soil is characterised as a red kandosol (74:11:15 sand:silt:clay) overlying an approx. 50&nbsp;m deep water table. Pine Hill Station is a functioning cattle station that has been in operation for longer than 50 years. For additional site information, see <a href="https://www.tern.org.au/tern-ecosystem-processes/alice-mulga-supersite/">Alice Mulga Supersite</a>.</p> <p>Other images collected at the site include photopoints, phenocam time-lapse images taken from fixed under and overstorey cameras and ancillary images of fauna and flora.</p>