After three years of intensive planning and research, the CSIRO has and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) have opened the country’s first large-scale rainforest research plot.

Located on the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns, the plot will allow scienstists from both bodies to monitor the rainforest over the long term and answer crucial questions on the health of the nation’s rainforests and monitor impacts that might arise from climate change.

“In preparing the plot for research, we established baseline data by identifying, mapping and measuring every tree that was greater than 10cm in diameter so we can continue to monitor them. We censused over 23 000 stems from 212 different species and there is estimated to be more than 400 plant species represented on the plot,” said Matt Bradford, a field botanist who manages the Robson Creek site for the CSIRO.

“It's been a huge effort, but it's a great place to be working. There's such a diversity of life and some of the trees on site are well over a thousand years old.”

TERN and CSIRO are now inviting scientists from Australia and across the world to undertake research at the Robson Creek site, which is the largest rainforest plot that has ever been set up in Australia.

The Robson Creek plot forms part of the Far North Queensland Rainforest Supersite, which carries out research on the rainforests of the World Heritage Wet Tropics region. The Rainforest Supersite is one of ten research 'Supersites' that make up the Australian Supersite Network established by TERN. These Supersites are enabling long-term monitoring of key Australian ecosystems and provide a unique opportunity for scientists to answer questions about species distribution, the potential for carbon storage and exchange, and the impacts of a changing climate.