Warra Long-Term Ecological Research

• A suitable site for the installation of a carbon flux tower at Warra LTER has been found in mature / 1934 regrowth mixed forest.  Initiated collaborative study with University of Melbourne PhD student Benedikt Fest to measure soil fluxes of methane and nitrous oxide in Wildfire Chronosequence plots as part of a wider study examining the effects of forest disturbances on soil fluxes of non-CO2 greenhouse gases. Installed manual respiration chambers in chronosequence plots, undertook spring sampling, and installed an automatic chamber system to measure soil CO2 fluxes.
• Completed baseline surveys of birds and ground-active beetles in the Wildfire Chronosequence plots. Bird assemblages showed a clear successional pattern with time since fire; species richness peaked in the 1898 wildfire regrowth.
• Three-year project on landscape-scale biodiversity advanced to the fieldwork stage, involving establishing 56 study plots and beginning the survey/sampling of birds, beetles and vascular plants in these.
• Analysed floristic and vertical structure data in the Wildfire Chronosequence plots.
• Completed bat activity project within the Warra  Silvicultural Systems Trial with Brad Law (NSW Primary Industries).
• Conducted project on biogeochemistry and ecosystem processes of headwater streams conducted (Ian Riley).
• Attended US LTER All-Scientists’ Meeting.

Projects commenced 2009-10 at the Warra LTER site

• Effect of forest disturbance on CO2 greenhouse gas soil fluxes (Benedikt Fest, University of Melbourne).
• Acquisition of photographic images of specimens in the Tasmanian Forest Insect Collection (L Forster).

DFRD provided Warra small-project grants to 4 researchers during 2009-10.

For further Information contact
email: research@forestrytas.com.au