FLORISTICS, STAND STRUCTURE AND ABOVEGROUND BIOMASS OF A 25-HA RAINFOREST PLOT IN THE WET TROPICS OF AUSTRALIA

Abstract

BRADFORD MG, METCALFE DJ, FORD A, LIDDELL MJ & MCKEOWN A. 2014. Floristics, stand structure and aboveground biomass of a 25-ha rainforest plot in the wet tropics of Australia. Australian wet tropical rainforests are both floristically diverse and high in endemism, and their restricted distribution sees them particularly vulnerable to climate change and other anthropogenic influences. Historically, there were no large-scale studies of the dynamics and drivers of these systems in Australia. We established a 25- ha rainforest plot in the Wet Tropics bioregion of Australia to undertake intensive collection of floristic, structural and ecosystem measurements. An initial census of all stems ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) recorded 23,416 stems from 208 species in 128 genera and 53 families; Lauraceae, Rutaceae, Proteaceae and Elaeocarpaceae were dominant. Endemism was high with 80.3% of species of stems ≥ 10 cm dbh found on the plot endemic to Australia and 45.2% endemic to the Wet Tropics bioregion. We provide the first measured estimate of basal area (52.0 m2 ha^-1) and aboveground living biomass (418.5 Mg ha^-1) for a large area of Australian rainforest. The data collected from the 25-ha plot provide a baseline description of floristics and stand structure that will facilitate and encourage long-term ecological research of forest dynamics and allow direct comparisons to be made with similar plots on a global scale.