<br>This dataset lists the plant communities from Rangeland sites across Australia described by the TERN Surveillance Monitoring team, using standardised AusPlots methodologies. <br /> <br> For each plant community, species richness, relative species abundance, vegetation condition as well as the spatial extent of the community, are described using AusPlots Point intercept, Species richness, Relative species abundance, and Plot and Physical Descriptions methods. Plant species are identified at every site as part of the AusPlots Vegetation vouchering method. The specimen data is updated with the identification date and authority details when species identification is confirmed by the Herbaria.<br />

<br>The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details for the Big Scrub Rocky Creek Dam, NSW. </br><br> Pre-European benchmark - analogue vegetation: The site was originally Lowland Subtropical Rainforest on basalt-derived and alluvial soils. The forest is distinguished by its dense, uneven canopy comprised of typically two to three tall tree layers. Eucalypts and brushbox (<em>Lophostemon confertus</em>) may be present as sparse emergent. Characteristic life-forms include buttressed trees, strangler figs, stands of bangalow palms (<em>Archontophoenix cunninghamiana</em>), woody vines and large epiphytes. </br><br> Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>1840: Intact rainforest</li> <li>1862: Area opened-up for selection</li> <li>1900: Cedar getters select large trees</li> <li>1910: Rainforest cleared and converted to pasture for dairying</li> <li>1911-1948: Area used for grazing dairy cattle</li> <li>1948: Area acquired for public use (water storage)</li> <li>1950-1989: Minimal management - land in transition (open public space)</li> <li>1950-1952: Rocky Creek Dam constructed</li> <li>1983-1990: Commenced experiments using assisted regeneration on small test plots</li> <li>1991-2000: Large scale assisted regeneration (25&nbsp;ha) by converting lantana thickets to rainforest</li> <li>2001-2011: Minimal management.</li></ul></br>

<br>The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about Belconnen Naval Transmitter Station in ACT, Australia. </br><br> Pre-European benchmark-analogue vegetation: the original vegetation for the site Belconnen Naval Transmitter Station was a temperate grassland in an ecological community dominated by native species of perennial tussock grasses. </br><br> Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>Up to late 1820s the area was managed by indigenous Ngunnawal people</li> <li>1830s: Area first grazed by sheep and cattle with the aid of shepherds</li> <li>1860: Fences were established and continuous stocking commenced</li> <li>1900: Patches of woodland areas on higher ground were partly cleared</li> <li>1900-39: High likelihood of moderate to heavy grazing pressure due to sheep and cattle</li> <li>1940-1993: Area managed as a naval transmission station</li> <li>1940-92: Area managed for sheep grazing under continuous grazing</li> <li>1970: Secure people and kangaroo proof fence established</li> <li>1993: Sheep removed from the site</li> <li>1995: mowers used to manage the grass</li> <li>1997-2008: Kangaroo population increased to unacceptable levels</li> <li>2006: Naval transmission towers demolished, area continued to have a secure people proof fence</li> <li>2008: Kangaroo population culled to reduce grazing pressure</li> <li>2011: Site managed for nature conservation values.</li></ul></br>

<br>The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about Goorooyarroo Nature Reserve Site 2, ACT, Australia </br><br> Pre-European benchmark-analogue vegetation: The site was originally woodlands on the deeper soils of the lower slopes and flats (<em>Eucalyptus blakelyi</em> and <em>Eucalyptus melliodora</em>) (McIntrye et al 2010). </br><br> Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>1819: Area managed by indigenous Ngunnawal people</li> <li>1826: Sheep grazing with shepherds commenced</li> <li>1860: Fences constructed - continuous stocking with sheep commenced</li> <li>1905: Area used for sheep grazing - continuous /set stocking</li> <li>1920: Fallen timber collected for firewood started</li> <li>1961: Mature trees on the site were ring barked to promote pasture grasses</li> <li>1973: Dead and fallen trees felled for fire wood</li> <li>1979: Bushfire burns through the area</li> <li>1994: Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve established</li> <li>1995: Continuous stocking with sheep grazing ceased</li> <li>1995: Collection of firewood ceased</li> <li>1995: Pasture improvement ceased</li> <li>1996: Kangaroo population begins to rapidly increase</li> <li>2006: Roo proof fence completed</li> <li>2006: Commenced annual removal of pest species of plants and animals</li> <li>2010: Commenced annual Kangaroo cull.</li></ul></br>

This data contains vertical vegetation profiles of 33 one-hectare plots in Karawatha Peri-Urban site, including species richness, stem density, and frequencies of vegetation at 12 different stratum heights.

This record contains information on the Plant Functional Type Classification, Richness and Cover in <i>Eucalyptus salubris</i> Woodlands, Great Western Woodland site. The data were generated across time since fire chronosequence, 2010-2011.

<br>The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about Organ Pipes National Park, Volcanic Plains Bioregion, Victoria. </br><br> Pre-European reference-analogue vegetation: Treeless basalt plain predominantly grassland dominated by Kangaroo Grass <em>Themeda triandra</em> with an array of inter-tussock species. </br><br> Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>1830: Indigenous people manage the area</li> <li>1835: Sheep grazing commenced (shepherds)</li> <li>1851: Alienated from the Crown as freehold and fenced</li> <li>1851-1965: Area managed for dairying, an orchard and cropping and grazing modified pastures</li> <li>1965: Agricultural production abandoned</li> <li>1965-1986: Area minimally managed</li> <li>1972: Organ Pipes National Park declared</li> <li>1986-1992: Commenced species re-introduced site with supplemental plantings. Area managed to control weed and further incursions</li> <li>1989-2003: Repeated monitoring. Area lightly grazed by rabbits and macropods</li> <li>1993: Site burnt [prescribed fire]; supplemental re-vegetation with indigenous local species </li> <li>1995: Site was burnt [prescribed fire]</li> <li>1997: Site was burnt [prescribed fire] followed by drought</li> <li>2003: Ceased monitoring and enhancement to the site</li> <li>2004-10: Minimal intervention.</li></ul></br>

<br>The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve. </br><br> Pre-European benchmark-analogue vegetation: the site was originally woodlands on the deeper soils of the lower slopes and flats (<em>Eucalyptus blakelyi</em> and <em>Eucalyptus melliodora</em>) (McIntyre et al. 2010). </br><br> Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>1819: Area managed by indigenous Ngunnawal people</li> <li>1826: Sheep grazing with shepherds commenced</li> <li>1860: Fences constructed - continuous stocking with sheep commenced</li> <li>1920: Fallen timber collected for firewood started</li> <li>1994: Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve established</li> <li>1995: Continuous stocking with sheep grazing ceased</li> <li>1995: Collection of firewood ceased</li> <li>1996: Kangaroo population begins to rapidly increase</li> <li>2006: Predator proof fence completed</li> <li>2008: Commenced annual removal of pest species of plants and animals</li> <li>2010: Commenced annual kangaroo cull.</li></ul></br>

We selected nine study sites, each incorporating three vegetation states: (a) fallow cropland, representing the restoration starting point, (b) planted old field (actively restored site), and (c) reference York gum (E. loxophleba) woodland. Plant species richness and cover All annual and perennial plant species were recorded in spring 2017 within each plot and identified to genus and species level where possible. Nomenclatures follow the Western Australian Herbarium (2017). A point intercept method previously demonstrated to provide objective and repeatable measures of cover (Godínez-Alvarez, Herrick, Mattocks, Toledo & Van Zee 2009; Prober, Standish & Wiehl 2011) was used to quantify cover of individual plant species, total vegetation cover and substrate types (i.e., bare ground, litter cover, plant cover). Ground cover, individual species, and canopy cover intercepting at every 2 m along four parallel, evenly spaced 50 m transects across each plot were recorded using a vertically placed dowel (8 mm wide, 2 m tall), resulting in 100 intercepting points per plot. For planted old fields, transects were placed parallel to planting rows, with two centred on rows and two centred between rows. This approximately represented the relative abundance of planted rows and non-planted inter-rows. If a species was recorded in the plot but did not intercept the dowel on any transect it was assigned 0.5 points. This method provided a measure of relative abundance (percentage cover) of plant species across the plot. To calculate species richness and cover across different life history and growth forms, species were classified into the following groups: total, native trees, native shrubs, native non – planted shrubs, native grasses, native perennial forbs, native annual forbs, exotic grasses and exotic annual forbs using the Western Australian Herbarium (2017) classification. Woody debris and leaf litter surveys Leaf-litter dry mass was estimated by collecting leaf-litter from five randomly placed 25 cm x 25 cm quadrats along two 50 m transects across each plot. Litter was stored in paper bags for transportation and then oven dried for 36 hours at 60 °C. The dried litter was weighed to 3 decimal points. Cover of fine and coarse woody debris and litter depth was estimated at every meter along two 20 m transects for each plot. Woody debris was classified by diameter. Length, max and min diameter was measured for all logs with a diameter greater than 10 cm.

<br>The aim of this project is to compile land use and management practices and their observed and measured impacts and effects on vegetation condition. The results provide land managers and researchers with a tool for reporting and monitoring spatial and temporal transformations of Australia’s native vegetated landscapes due to changes in land use and management practices. Following are the details about the Cumberland State Forest, compartments 8b, 9a and 9b, NSW, Australia. </br><br> Pre-European reference-analogue vegetation: the site was originally a wet sclerophyll forest found on Wianamatta group Ashfield Shale. </br><br> Brief chronology of changes in land use and management:<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"> <li>1788: Area managed by indigenous Darug people</li> <li>1788-1824: Region explored - un-modified native forest blue gum/ironbark on shale</li> <li>1825: Parcel selected by shepherd</li> <li>1826-1907: Grazing cattle on native pastures</li> <li>1860: Tree cover likely to have been thinned - selective logging</li> <li>1908: Commenced clearing patches of trees for improved pasture, chooks, orchards</li> <li>1909-1937: Managed as improved pasture for grazing</li> <li>1937-38: Purchased by NSW Forestry Commission</li> <li>1941-42: Area cleared of remaining native forest trees</li> <li>1946-73: Area managed for education and demonstration - regenerating native forest</li> <li>1974-84: Area increasing managed for recreation - regenerating native forest</li> <li>1985-2012: Area managed for recreation - regenerating native forest.</li></ul></br>