A collaborative framework for vegetated systems research: A perspective from Victoria, Australia

Collaborative ventures in research infrastructure can allow multiple stakeholders to benefit from outcomes that may otherwise be cost prohibitive. In this study, we discuss how the investment in research infrastructure by various sectors of the academic, scientific, and land management community is promoting high end forest ecosystem research in Australia. Three 25km² woodland and open canopy forests that are representative of Victoria´s 8 million hectares of public forests were incorporated into the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network´s calibration/validation campaign. The sites are being used to develop algorithms that will assist land management agencies across various states to characterize fundamental forest attributes at a landscape level. Wireless technology (VegNet) is also being trialed at these sites to investigate forest condition over time. This study provides an example of how the establishment and co-investment in research infrastructure amongst different sectors of the scientific community promote data sharing and ultimately expand our understanding of forest ecosystems, which can in turn be used for monitoring and to inform policy and land management decision making.