SuperSites
Daintree Rainforest SuperSite
TERN’s affiliate Daintree Rainforest SuperSite is comprised of two field sites. The primary site is at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory (DRO) at Cape Tribulation. It comprises a long-term monitoring site, canopy crane and extensive researcher and teaching infrastructure. Nearby is the Daintree Discovery Centre site at Cow Bay, an ecotourism interpretive centre featuring a canopy tower, flux tower, aerial walkway and scientific monitoring. The sites are located about 120 km north of Cairns, Queensland.
Site Infrastructure & Characteristics
SuperSite Research Infrastructure
Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- Canopy crane
- Weather station
- 1 ha core plot
- Gauging station
- Soil water content, soil water potential, soil temperature sensors
- Logging dendrometer bands
- Faunacams
- Sap flow system
- Groundwater logging bores (3)
- Rainout shelter
- Comprehensive herbarium and insect collections for identifications
Daintree Discovery Centre
- Eddy covariance flux tower
- Weather station
- 1 ha core plot
- Phenocams (1 above canopy)
- Soil water content, soil temperature sensors
- Sap flow system
SuperSite Details
Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- Vegetation type: Complex Mesophyll Vine Forest (CMVF) 20 – 35 m canopy
- Elevation: 65 m
- Rainfall: ~5143 mm/yr
- Mean Temperature: 24.4°C
- Soils: acidic, dystrophic, brown dermosol and colluvial gravels
Daintree Discovery Centre
- Vegetation type: Complex Mesophyll Vine Forest (CMVF) 20 – 35 m canopy
- Elevation: 86 m
- Rainfall:~4425 mm/yr
- Mean Temperature: 24.0 °C
- Soils: acidic, dystrophic, brown dermosol
Site Research
Research using the Daintree Rainforest SuperSite aims to:
- How are the biota (in particular locally endemic species) changing in form, frequency and distribution and what are the drivers of change?
- Does the vegetation represent a stable structure (overstorey versus understory dynamics) or has climate change affected it?
- Which taxa of organisms are the most sensitive to local climate change and how can these be assembled into an accurate biodiversity monitoring tool?
- What are the fundamental vertical and lateral energy, carbon, water and nutrient stocks and flows in the tropical forests of north Queensland?
- How are these stocks and flows responding to past management and climate change and how are they likely to respond in the future?
- How important is the connectivity between these ecosystems for hydrology, faunal movement and as refugia under conditions of past and future climate change?
Site Partners
Research Publications
Since its inception, TERN’s infrastructure has enabled the publication of more than 1600 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles or books.
