Assessing the representativeness of long-term ecological research sites: a case study at Warra in Tasmania

Summary

Long-term ecological research (LTER) and monitoring sites are being used to monitor environmental change, but to be effective they should be representative of broader ecosystems. Representativeness needs to be assessed at the local, regional and global scales. The internal heterogeneity within the Warra LTER site in Tasmania was examined and an evaluation made of the extent to which the site typifies the occurrence of Eucalyptus obliqua cool temperate tall forest (the major component ecosystem) elsewhere in Tasmania. Analysis by geological substrates, environmental domains, floristic and structural attributes showed that the E. obliqua tall forests at the Warra LTER site were broadly representative of these forests across the State. The analytical techniques used here could also be used to establish new sites and to identify gaps in the comprehensiveness of existing LTER site coverage. Consistent and more universal application of such analyses will assist in establishing the relevance of individual sites to broader scale LTER questions.