Warra Long-Term Ecological Research

The Warra LTER Site of 15,900 ha was designated in 1995 to encourage long-term ecological research and monitoring in wet forests in Tasmania.

The site is supported by nine LTER site partners from Tasmanian and national research agencies. There were approximately 350 visitors to the Warra LTER Site during 2007/08 to observe current research activites and outcomes. They included policy makers, forest managers, scientists, representatives of environmental NGOs and students. Many of the visitors were from interstate and international institutions.

Major activities for 2008 - 09

• Collected spatial and historical information for catchments in Warra LTER to determine biophysical factors that have the greatest influence on water quality and yield
• Collated and reported water quality data for 15 water sampling sites
• Upgraded instruments at the Warra weirs to include remote telemetry
• Completed second 3-year sampling of emerging saproxylic beetles from Warra Log Decay Study.Beetles have been sorted, identified and databased in preparation for analysis.
• Completed annual surveys of ground beetles and birds in control plots at the SST, and completed first of the 10-year post-harvest treatments
• Successful ARC Linkage Grant to use molecular methods to map dispersal of saproxylic beetles in the Southern Forests Experimental Forest Landscape (SFEFL) anchored at Warra. The grant will fund a postdoctoral researcher and a PhD student for three years
• Successful inclusion of the Warra LTER in an expanded Ozflux network, allowing future establishment of a carbon flux tower in a mature / regrowth E. obliqua forest
• Analysis of initial sample of ground beetles collected from the Baseline Altitudinal Monitoring Transects
• Provided Warra Honours scholarship to Ian Riley (in collaboration with CRC for Forestry) to study carbon content of water in Warra streams
• Sampled lichen and bryophyte plots in retained aggregates of two Warra SST coupes, completed species identifications and prepared the dataset for final analyses

The Division of Forest Research and Development provided Warra small projects grants to 2 researchers during the year.

For further Information contact
Dr Simon Grove
Conservation Biologist
Ph: 0362 33 8141
email: simon.grove@forestrytas.com.au