Digital Cover Photography of Great Western Woodlands Vegetation

Upward-looking Digital Cover Photography (DCP) images collected twice per year from a core 1-hectare monitoring plot in the Great Western Woodlands Site. The images are used to estimate vegetation metrics like Leaf Area Index (LAI), Crown Cover, and Foliage Projective Cover (FPC). The site was established in 2012 in the semi-arid Credo Conservation Reserve.

Use Cases

• Estimate Leaf Area Index (LAI) from upward-looking DCP images captured at times of maximum and minimum LAI.
• Analyze Crown Cover or Foliage Projective Cover (FPC) trends using biannual DCP images from the core monitoring plot.
• Compare vegetation cover in plots dominated by Eucalyptus salmonophloia, Eucalyptus salubris, and Eucalyptus clelandii using site-specific DCP imagery.

Strengths

• Images are collected twice per year, providing seasonal data for vegetation cover analysis.
• Data collection began in 2012, offering a multi-year time series from the established site.
• Focuses on a core 1-hectare plot within the semi-arid Great Western Woodlands, providing specific spatial context.

Limitations

• The dataset's exact size, number of images, and specific file structure are unknown.
• Data is limited to a single 1-hectare plot and specific research plots within the Great Western Woodlands, not a broad geographic area.
• Image analysis requires specialized techniques for deriving metrics like LAI and FPC.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Digital Cover Photography (DCP) using upward-looking images captured twice per year at a fixed monitoring plot.

Time Range

Data collection began in 2012; the dataset includes biannual captures.

Freshness

Data was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Great Western Woodlands Site, specifically the core 1 ha plot in the Credo Conservation Reserve, Western Australia.