CalVal Sites
TERN Landscapes has undertaken field and airborne campaigns within selected Australian biomes since January 2011 as part of its calibration and validation program to support the production of continental scale satellite based time-series of biophysical parameters.
Many national and international approaches were reviewed during the development phase, and the field and airborne data collection approaches and protocols developed have been based on their suitability and adaptability to different Australian environments, while still upholding national and international standards. The data collection approaches used are presented in the TERN’s Effective Field Calibration and Validation Practices handbook
- Site Name:
- Tumbarumba
- Site Location:
- South eastern New South Wales, 100 km south west of Canberra
- Date(s):
- 10-14 Jan 2011
- Environment:
- Temperate wet sclerophyll eucalypt forest with average tree height of 40 m. Eucalyptus delegatensis is the dominant species. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/tumb
- Site Name:
- Chowilla (Calperum Mallee)
- Site Location:
- North of the River Murray floodplains near Renmark, South Australia
- Date(s):
- 30 Jan – 3 Feb 2012
- Environment:
- Semi-arid mallee ecosystem in dune and swale system covered with an open mallee woodland upper story with a chenopod and native grass understory. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/clpm
- Site Name:
- Watts Creek
- Site Location:
- 70 km east of Melbourne, Victoria
- Date(s):
- 5-9 Mar, 13-20 Apr, 1-3, 7 May and 9-16 Sep 2012
- Environment:
- Open forest with a eucalypt over storey greater than 40 m in height consisting mainly of mountain ash.
- Site Name:
- Rushworth Forest
- Site Location:
- 120 km north of Melbourne, Victoria
- Date(s):
- 15 Apr, 3-6 May, 31 May and 6 Jun 2012
- Environment:
- Open forest of red iron bark, red stringybark, red box, long leaf box and grey box.
- Site Name:
- Zig Zag Creek
- Site Location:
- Eastern Victoria 300 km east of Melbourne, Victoria
- Date(s):
- 16-20 Apr 2012
- Environment:
- Dominated by shrubby dry forest and damp forest on the upland slopes, wet forest ecosystems restricted to the higher altitudes and grassy woodlands. Grassy dry forest ecosystems are associated with river valleys.
- Site Name:
- Credo (Great Western Woodlands)
- Site Location:
- Great Western Woodland 500 km north west of Perth, Western Australia
- Date(s):
- 12-18 May 2012
- Environment:
- Open woodland inter-dispersed with open, treeless areas. The main vegetation species are Salmon Gums reaching up to 20 m and Gimlet between 5-10 m, both with little understory. Salt bush and similar shrubs are also prevalent. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/gwwl
- Site Name:
- Robson Creek
- Site Location:
- Lamb Range in the Wet Tropics World Heritage area 25 km south west of Cairns, Queensland
- Date(s):
- 9-16 Sep 2012
- Environment:
- Upland rainforest region at 700 m elevation. Notophyll vine forest with a tall canopy at around 40 m and high species diversity. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/fnqr/robson
- Site Name:
- South East Queensland
- Site Location:
- Queensland Multiple sites in South East Queensland, located in the Samford Valley, Karawatha Forest, and two mangrove sites near Brisbane Airport.
- Date(s):
- 21 Jan 2013 – 6 Feb 2013
- Environment:
- Samford site: on an improved (Paspalum dilatum) pasture with tall eucalypt species. Karawatha Forest: bushland with tall eucalypt species and patches of heatlands and Melaleuca swamps. Mangrove sites: Within Moreton Bay with Avicennia marina being the dominant mangrove. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/seqp
- Site Name:
- Litchfield
- Site Location:
- 80 km south of Darwin, Northern Territory
- Date(s):
- 27 May – 2 Jun 2013
- Environment:
- Savanna, eucalypt open forests, dominated by Eucalyptus miniata and Eucalyptus tetrodonta. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/lfld
- Site Name:
- Alice Mulga
- Site Location:
- 165 km north-northwest of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
- Date(s):
- Not visited yet, but airborne LiDAR collected
- Environment:
- Mulga (Acacia aneura) canopy, which is 6.5m tall on average. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/alic
- Site Name:
- Warra
- Site Location:
- 60 km east-southeast of Hobart, Tasmania
- Date(s):
- 2-6 Feb 2015
- Environment:
- 2-6 Feb 2015 Homogenous tall, wet Eucalyptus obliqua forest with wet sclerophyll and rainforest understorey. See also http://www.tern-supersites.net.au/supersites/wrra
- Site Name:
- Injune
- Site Location:
- 170 km northwest of Roma, central southeast Queensland
- Date(s):
- 17-22 Aug 2015
- Environment:
- Low open woodland and open forest ecosystem. Forests with Eucalyptus species dominate in the more productive soils, occurs on the poorer sandy soils, and Brigalow occurs on clay soils. Iron barks are frequent within the open forests. See also https://www.ecosystem.unsw.edu.au/content/landscape-synthesis/remote-sensing/the-injune-landscape-collaborative-project
- Site Name:
- Fowler’s Gap
- Site Location:
- 110 km north of Broken Hill, NSW
- Date(s):
- 12-15 Sept 2016
- Environment:
- Arid rangelands ecosystem within a long term ecological monitoring research station. See also http://www.fowlersgap.unsw.edu.au.
