The dataset consists of species identity and projective foliage cover (PFC) of ground layer vascular plants from five sites located near Mareeba, in northern Queensland. The sites are located in eucalypt communities with altitudes ranging from 380 to 840 m. Data have been collected annually since 1992, in April and May, i.e. during the annual peak of plant species richness. At each site, data collection is carried out using ten 0.5 m² quadrats deployed within a permanently marked 50 x 10 m plot. For each quadrat, all plant species visible above ground are identified and sampled. PFC data for each species from the ten quadrats are averaged. Any additional species occurring within the 50 x 10 m plot is also recorded and assigned a PFC of 0.1% (Neldner and Butler, 2021).

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.

The Ground Cover Reference Sites Database of Tasmania has been collected by Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmania as part of the Ground Cover Monitoring for Australia project. The data is being used to calibrate, validate and improve vegetation fractional cover products derived from remote sensing, in particular the satellite sensors MODIS and Landsat. The data is being used to improve the national fractional vegetation cover product of Guerschman et al. (2009) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This algorithm enables national, monthly identification of ground cover separating the photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic components by applying a linear unmixing methodology for spectral reflectance every 8 days as 16-day composites. For confidence in its ground cover estimates, the results were verified in the field at selected sites across Australia to allow more extensive calibration, validation and verification of accuracy of the remote sensing method. The Ground Cover Reference Sites Database represents the results of the field validation of remotely determined cover measurements by observing cover along point intersects with a total of 300 points (or 200 points with crops). It also has additional observations and measures such as landscape features, fire evidence, erosion evidence, biotic disturbance evidence, biomass estimates, basal area measurements, soil features and dominant vegetation species, as well as site photographs. The Ground Cover Reference Sites Database focuses on sites in extensive grazing systems of the rangelands and, to a lesser extent, in the mixed farming or intensive land use zone. Field validation aims at obtaining a wide spatial coverage of sites, with limited site revisits for temporal coverage.

The Ground Cover Reference Sites Database of Queensland has been collected by Department of Environment and Science, Queensland as part of the Ground Cover Monitoring for Australia project. The data is being used to calibrate, validate and improve vegetation fractional cover products derived from remote sensing, in particular the satellite sensors MODIS and Landsat. The data is being used to improve the national fractional vegetation cover product of Guerschman et al. (2009) derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This algorithm enables national, monthly identification of ground cover separating the photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic components by applying a linear unmixing methodology for spectral reflectance every 8 days as 16-day composites. For confidence in its ground cover estimates, the results were verified in the field at selected sites across Australia to allow more extensive calibration, validation and verification of accuracy of the remote sensing method. The Ground Cover Reference Sites Database represents the results of the field validation of remotely determined cover measurements by observing cover along point intersects with a total of 300 points (or 200 points with crops). It also has additional observations and measures such as landscape features, fire evidence, erosion evidence, biotic disturbance evidence, biomass estimates, basal area measurements, soil features and dominant vegetation species, as well as site photographs. The Ground Cover Reference Sites Database focuses on sites in extensive grazing systems of the rangelands and, to a lesser extent, in the mixed farming or intensive land use zone. Field validation aims at obtaining a wide spatial coverage of sites, with limited site revisits for temporal coverage.

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.

The project systematically surveys the extent and condition of remnant native vegetation on railway corridors / roadsides . A standard drive-by survey methodology is used to record dominant species (overstorey, understorey, emergent, threatened and alien species), structural type, density/distribution and understorey vegetation type in roadside vegetation. Mapping outputs are used to inform roadside vegetation management by Local and State Governments.