Digital Cover Photography of Cumberland Plain Eucalyptus Woodland

Featuring upward-looking Digital Cover Photography (DCP) images of vegetation cover from the Cumberland Plain SuperSite in New South Wales, Australia. Images are collected twice per year to capture maximum and minimum Leaf Area Index (LAI), with monthly collections from 2018-2020 at a subset of sites. The data supports estimation of LAI, Crown Cover, and Foliage Projective Cover.

Use Cases

• Estimate Leaf Area Index (LAI) from upward-looking DCP images to monitor canopy growth.
• Analyze seasonal dynamics of LAI using monthly images collected from 2018-2020 at sites co-located with litterfall traps.
• Calculate Foliage Projective Cover (FPC) from vegetation cover captured in DCP images to assess woodland condition.
• Evaluate canopy growth aspects by correlating DCP images with data from under-canopy radiation sensors.

Strengths

• Images are captured at times of estimated maximum and minimum LAI, targeting key phenological states.
• Includes a subset of monthly collections from 2018-2020 for detailed seasonal analysis.
• Data is co-located with litterfall traps and under-canopy radiation sensors, enabling multi-sensor validation.

Limitations

• The dataset consists of images (PNG, PDF, HTML) without structured tabular data, requiring image processing for quantitative analysis.
• Spatial coverage is limited to a single core hectare within the Cumberland Plain SuperSite.
• Temporal coverage for detailed monthly sampling is limited to a 2-year period (2018-2020).

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Digital Cover Photography (DCP) using upward-looking images collected at the site.

Time Range

Primary collection twice per year, with monthly sampling from 2018-2020.

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Cumberland Plain SuperSite, Hawkesbury Campus, University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.