Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network: Stag and Fire Severity Observations in Ash Forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia,1998–2011

In 1998, 1129 large trees with cavities (i.e. both living and dead stags) were mapped and permanently marked at 156 field sites. Each stag was assigned one of nine tree forms or decay classes based on observable characteristics. Each time the trees were re-surveyed, an additional 3 hour reconnaissance was undertaken at each site to determine if any new cavity trees had been recruited since the previous survey.

These data were used in the IUCN Red List of Ecosystem Assessment of Burns, E. L., Lindenmayer, D. B., Stein, J., Blanchard, W., McBurney, L., Blair, D. & Banks, S. C. (2015). Ecosystem assessment of mountain ash forest in the Central Highlands of Victoria, South-eastern Australia. Austral Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/aec.12200. The data were subsequently used in a case study as part of the Collaborative Environment for Ecosystem Science Research and Analysis (CoESRA) (see https://www.coesra.org.au).

This is part of a much larger dataset that began in 1983 when the Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network research plots commenced. These data have been collected as part of an ongoing program to examine key relationships in different vegetation types; within and across different regions and in response to different kinds of disturbance and management regimes. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network’s full program is provided at the LTERN Data Portal.

1998年，研究人员在156个野外样地中，对1129株带有树洞的高大乔木（涵盖活立木与枯立木）完成了定位测绘与永久标记。研究人员依据可观测的特征，将每株枯立木划分为9种树木形态或腐朽等级之一。每次对这些树木开展重测工作时，研究人员都会在每个样地额外进行3小时的勘察，以确认自上次调查以来是否新增了带树洞的乔木。

该数据集曾被用于Burns、E. L. 等人2015年发表于《澳大利亚生态学（Austral Ecology）》的《澳大利亚东南部维多利亚州中部高地山杨林生态系统评估》一文的IUCN红色名录生态系统评估工作，该文献DOI为10.1111/aec.12200。后续，这些数据还作为生态科学研究与分析协作环境（Collaborative Environment for Ecosystem Science Research and Analysis, CoESRA）的组成部分，被应用于一项案例研究（详情可访问https://www.coesra.org.au）。

本数据集是一项更大规模数据集的组成部分，该大型数据集的筹备始于1983年，当年维多利亚州高大桉树林样地网络（Victorian Tall Eucalypt Forest Plot Network）研究项目正式启动。该数据采集计划为长期持续项目，旨在探究不同植被类型、不同区域内部及跨区域间的关键生态关系，以及生态系统对各类干扰与管理措施的响应。维多利亚州高大桉树林样地网络完整研究计划所涵盖的相关数据包概要，可于长期生态研究网络（Long-Term Ecological Research Network, LTERN）数据门户查询。