Mallee Plot Network: Vegetation Survey Data (Structure and Floristics), Western New South Wales and South Australia, Australia, 2011-2018

This package contains vegetation survey data, collected between 2011 and 2018, for 60 0.2 hectare sites which were established on dune crests and upper slopes in Tarawi Nature Reserve; Scotia Sanctuary and Danggali National Park. A synopsis of related data packages, which have been collected as part of the Mallee Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c133088bc5b9 Sampling method: Fifty-three experimental sites have been established on dune crests and upper slopes during 1996–2011, of which 29 are located within Tarawi NR, with 16 in Scotia and eight in Danggali NR. In Tarawi NR, each is marked with a steel sign on an adjacent access track. These include four pilot sites established during 1996-1998, during which the design of herbivore exclosures were developed. Study extent: Between 1996 and 2011, 53 experimental sites were established on dune crests and upper slopes, of which 29 are located in Tarawi Nature Reserve, 16 are in Scotia Sanctuary and 8 are in Danggali Conservation Park. After initial censuses in three consecutive years (before and after prescribed fire) or two consecutive years (after wildfire), sites are revisited approximately every five years. The study focusses on vegetation dynamics on dune crests and upper slopes, primarily because resources are insufficient to sample across the full catenary sequence of dunes and swales. Study of fire in swale landforms is problematic because these are rarely flammable under prescribed fire conditions due to the absence of hummock grasses, which augment lateral fuel connectivity and thus promote fire spread on the dune crests and slopes. The study is located in the red aeolian sand dunefield landscape of the Scotia district within Tarawi Nature Reserve (33.44ºS 141.16ºE), Scotia Wildlife Sanctuary (33°17′S 141°05'E) and Danggali Nature Reserve (33° 22' S 140° 45' E) in south-western New South Wales and adjacent area of South Australia. The study area sits on the south-eastern edge of the Australian arid zone. This location is close to the arid limits of distribution of the mallee woodland biome, which stretches across the temperate semi-arid belt of southern Australia (Noble 1984). Mallee woodlands typically occur within regions receiving 200-500 mm rainfall per year. During 1940-2010, mean annual rainfall at Tarawi Homestead was approximately 240 mm (data summary courtesy of John Warren, Tarawi NR) Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and fun