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.

The dataset includes two main components: (1) Tree survey - data on the species, diameter and height of individual trees, along with a count of seedlings and saplings; and (2) Coarse woody debris - data on the size and decay class of downed coarse woody debris encountered in the plots.

This data contains diameter, volume and biomass measurements of all coarse woody debris pieces and standing dead trees within the core 1 ha plot at the Cumberland Plain site in 2014 - 2015.

This data contains diameter, length volume, biomass and carbon measurements of all coarse woody debris pieces within the core 1 ha plot at the Warra Tall Eucalypt site in 2015.

This data contains diameter, volume and biomass measurements of all coarse woody debris pieces within the core 1 ha plot at the Robson Creek Rainforest site in 2012 - 2014 and 2017.

This data contains diameter, volume and biomass measurements of all coarse woody debris pieces within the core 1 ha plot at the Daintree, Cape Tribulation site in 2014 - 2016.

This data contains diameter, volume and biomass measurements of all coarse woody debris pieces within the core 1 ha plot at the Samford Peri-Urban site in 2012 and 2014 - 2016.

Data is provided for fourteen native forest plots in NSW measured in April 2021 during a pilot of potential field measurement methods for the state-wide forest plot network as part of the NSW Forest Monitoring and Improvement Program. Data includes tree height, diameter, canopy cover, species composition, coarse woody debris, fuel hazard, Biodiversity Assessment Method structure, as well as raw and processed data from terrestrial LiDAR scans.