DOI: 10.25911/5c3ecb8b3efc4
title: Victorian Alpine Plot Network (ATEX): Plot Microclimate Data, Bogong High Plains, Victoria, Australia, 2004–2013
title: Victorian Alpine Plot Network: Plot Micro Climate ATEX, 2004–2013

description: The objective of the Australian Tundra Experiment is to assess the likely response of vegetation and invertebrates to temperature increases attained through passive warming.  <br><br>The Australian Tundra Experiment follows the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) protocol (Molau & Mølgaard 1996, Jarrad et al. 2009) which focuses on the growth and phenological responses of cold adapted vascular plant species to environmental change, specifically, to an increase in summer (growing season) temperatures. In addition to monitoring vegetation responses, the experimental warming chambers were used to monitor the response of invertebrates to warming. Warming is achieved using hexagonal fibreglass open-top warming chambers (OTCs).<br><br>The OTCs were set up in December 2003 at 4 sites within a 2 × 4.5 km area of the Bogong High Plains, Victoria, Australia, known as Rocky Knobs (36.90ºS, 147.27ºE). Two of the sites were established on vegetation that had been recently burnt by the 2003 bushfires. <br><br>The sites are at approximately 1700 m above sea level and generally have snow cover of variable depth for 3 to 4 months each year (June-July to September-October). <br><br>At each site, permanent plots of 1m2 were selected to include as many of the common vascular grassland species as possible. Treatments were then allocated at random for a total of 40 control and 40 warmed plots. This dataset contains microclimate data for a subset of plots from 6-06-2004 to 18-04-2013.
description: Abstract: The objective of the Australian Tundra Experiment is to assess the likely response of vegetation and invertebrates to temperature increases attained through passive warming.  <br><br>The Australian Tundra Experiment follows the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) protocol (Molau & Mølgaard 1996, Jarrad et al. 2009) which focuses on the growth and phenological responses of cold adapted vascular plant species to environmental change, specifically, to an increase in summer (growing season) temperatures. In addition to monitoring vegetation responses, the experimental warming chambers were used to monitor the response of invertebrates to warming. Warming is achieved using hexagonal fibreglass open-top warming chambers (OTCs).

The OTCs were set up in December 2003 at 4 sites within a 2 × 4.5 km area of the Bogong High Plains, Victoria, Australia, known as Rocky Knobs (36.90ºS, 147.27ºE). Two of the sites were established on vegetation that had been recently burnt by the 2003 bushfires. 

The sites are at approximately 1700 m above sea level and generally have snow cover of variable depth for 3 to 4 months each year (June-July to September-October). 

At each site, permanent plots of 1m2 were selected to include as many of the common vascular grassland species as possible. Treatments were then allocated at random for a total of 40 control and 40 warmed plots. This dataset contains microclimate data for a subset of plots from 6-06-2004 to 18-04-2013.

Sampling method: Each data logger used four sensors: ambient temperatures at 5 cm above the ground surface, soil surface temperatures, and soil temperatures 5 cm and 10 cm below ground. The soil surface sensor was positioned in an inter-tussock gap. Temperatures were recorded hourly.

On 24/10/2008, due to problems with loggers, we replaced all Hobo H8 Outdoor/Industrial 4-channel loggers with a reduced set of HOBO U12 4-Channel External Data loggers (U12-008). Because analyses of the data showed that temperatures at the two unburnt sites were similar, as were temperatures at the two burnt sites, the new loggers were put in only at ITEX1U and ITEX3B.

All data were screened and missing or false readings replaced with NA. The data file contains hourly temperature readings from 06-06-2004 to 18-04-2013.

Study extent: At the beginning of the experiment in 2004, 24 Hobo H8 Outdoor/Industrial 4-channel data  loggers were set up next to 24 plots across the 4 Australian ITEX sites. ITEX1U and ITEX2U (the two unburnt sites) each had 8 loggers: half randomly assigned to control (un-warmed) plots and half randomly assigned to OTC (warmed) plots. The two burnt sites (ITEX3B and ITEX4B) also had loggers, but because these sites had fewer plots and because of financial constraints only 4 loggers per site were installed (2 controls and 2 OTCs per site).

Project fundingThe experiment was initiated with funds from an Australia Research Council Linkage Grant for the period 2003-2006. A second Linkage Grant provided funds to continue the project from 2008 to 2012. Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.