The document summarizes a workshop on advances in ecosystem data management practices and technologies. The workshop aimed to provide researchers an overview of best practices for collecting, storing, managing, publishing and sharing ecosystem data. It covered various data collection tools and national infrastructure for housing and accessing Australian ecosystem data, including databases managed by TERN, ANDS and the Virtual Lab Program. Presentations addressed topics like mobile data collection, data management and publishing, data preservation, and using virtual labs for large-scale data analysis.

1. Advances in data management practices and
technologies for ecosystem science
A workshop for the Ecological Society of Australia Annual Conference
Alice Springs, October 1 2014: 1300 – 1630 hrs

2. Presentation Aims
To provide researchers who collect and re-use multiple types of
ecosystem data with a practical overview and demonstrations of
data collection, storage, management, publication and sharing
practices for use in ecological sciences and management.
To recognise different needs of researchers in different position and
stages in research careers.

3. Presentation Learning Objectives
• What do we want people to walk away with?
- high level of knowledge of what ecosystem data is available and how to get it;
- understanding of why good data management matters and what the benefits
are for you;
- understanding of spectrum of options for data collection and management;
- understanding of how TERN and similar facilities fit into that spectrum;
- understanding of data collection, publishing and sharing options; and
- entry level appreciation of what new things are possible with this advanced
infrastructure.

4. Expectations for Workshop?
• Increase research impact and capability
• Enable transition to more open, transparent scientific culture
• From a technical side - Data Collection, Data Assurance, Data
description, Data preservation and Access, Data
discoverability, Data re-use, Analysis and Integration.
• From an ecological side: improved data collection, use, re-use,
applications, solutions, publications, collaborations and
impact

5. Review Pre Workshop Surveys
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14jdfBjv_QjwxqpkVE3T99yXfHmmgkWfBYk
WNjp25qTU/viewform?usp=send_form
1. What is your area of work, research or teaching, and what is your
involvement with ecosystem research and data management?
2. Have you previously searched for and downloaded ecosystem data using
an online data repository or portal?
If yes, please tell us which repositories or portals you have used:
3. Have you downloaded or used –on-line tools for data collection and
processing ?
If yes, which one(s):

6. Review Pre Workshop Surveys
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14jdfBjv_QjwxqpkVE3T99yXfHmmgkWfBYkWNjp25qTU/
viewform?usp=send_form
4. Have you ever deposited your research data in a publicly accessible repository ?
If yes, which one(s):
5. Have you ever written metadata to describe your research data?
If yes, which metadata standards and authoring tools were used?
6. Have you used another scientist's data to conduct your research?
If yes, briefly outline the benefits and challenges you experienced:
7. What are you hoping to get out of the workshop?
8. Are there any specific topics or questions that you would like to be covered?

7. Your Presenters!
• TERN - Stuart Phinn
• TERN Ozflux – Peter Isaac
• TERN Ausplots – Andrew Tokmakoff
• TERN Ecoinformatics – Anita Smyth
• TERN Auscover - Matt Paget
• ANDS – Angeletta Leggio
• Nectar BBCVL Virtual Lab – Willow Hallgren & Hamish Holewa

8. Workshop Outline
Time Title Presenters
13:00 – 13:20 Introduction and Context Stuart Phinn
13:20 – 13:50 Adding Value to Data: A Rake’s
Progress
Peter Isaac
13:50 – 14:10 Collecting Data: Mobile field data
collection with prescribed
methodologies
Andrew Tokmakoff
14:10: 15:00 Data management and publishing
for ecologists
Anita Smyth and Matt
Paget
15:00 – 15:20 Coffee Break
Coffee/tea Provided
15:20 – 15:40 Preservation and Data Angeletta Leggio
15:40 – 16:10 The Biodiversity and Climate
Change Virtual Laboratory
(BCCVL): Where Ecology Mets Big
Data
Willow Hallgren
16:10 – 16:30 Wrap-up and close Stuart Phinn

9. Introduction –
Ecological Data Collection and Sharing
Data Collection:
• Methods, protocols and technologies
• Manual, visual, instrumental, semi-automated, and automated
• Quality checking, assurance and standards
Data Sharing:
• A range of approaches can be used for this!
• Data curation, meta-data, licensing and data publishing

10. • A Data Publishing Continuum?
http://www.tern.org.au/Data-publishing-pg26249.html

11. Introduction –
Ecological Data Collection and Sharing
Data Collection:
• Methods, protocols and technologies
• Manual, visual, instrumental, semi-automated, and automated
• Quality checking, assurance and standards
Data Sharing:
• A range of approaches can be used for this!
• Data curation, meta-data, licensing and data publishing
Relevant national data infrastructure:
• Covering TERN, ANDS and Virtual Lab Program today….
• Focus on Australia’s Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network

12. • National infrastructure for Australian ecosystem data

13. What is TERN?
• Infrastructure and networks to support coordinated, collaborative ecosystem
science community
• Enabling sustained, long-term collection, storage, synthesis and sharing of
ecosystem data
• Connecting science with policy and management

14. • TERN’s infrastructure for ecosystem science

15. Instruments
+ Sensors
Policy +
Management
Analysis
+ Synthesis
Modelling
Data
Searching
Data
Sharing
Data Curation
+ Publishing
Data
Storage
Processing
+ Analysis
Collection
Methods

16. Data analysis,
integration and
synthesis
Storage,
preservation and
discoverability
of data
r
Ecosystem Science
Enhanced ability to
revise, question and
expand knowledge
Data + meta-data,
licensing
Research output:
new data and
publications
Enables large scale and
coordinated data
collection, sharing and
multiple re-uses
Knowledge gap:
research
questions
Proposal and
planning
Data collection,
verification,
quality assurance
and control
This afternoon……..

17. TERN’s data portals and meta-data structure:
Auscover
Ozflux
Ausplots, and Transects
Soils
Coasts
Supersites Network and LTERN
eMAST
AeKOS
Ecoinformatics TERN Data
Discovery Portal

18. TERN Data:
TERN facility Kind of data available Where can I access [+ submit] data ?
AusCover Remote sensing data and derived
products covering: land cover;
ecosystem variables; fire; surface
radiation, meteorology; base satellite
data and inputs to satellite processing;
site-based datasets.
Via TDDP or AusCover portal:
www.auscover.org.au/data/product-list
[Submit - matt.paget@csiro.au]
AusPlots Vegetation and soil surveys and
samples; photopoints.
Over 330 sites sampled so far.
As at March 2014: data from ~130
rangelands sites available, with more
coming soon.
Via AEKOS data portal www.aekos.org.au or
Soils to Satellites soils2sat.ala.org.au/
(In future will also be searchable from TDDP)
Specimens (vegetation voucher samples and
soils) ian@ausplots.org.au
Photopoints: Contact ben@ausplots.org.au
ACEAS
(Australian
Centre for
Ecological
Analysis and
Synthesis)
Synthesised data products from ACEAS
working groups.
Via TDDP or ACEAS portal:
aceas-data.science.uq.edu.au/portal/
[Submit – s.guru@uq.edu.au]

19. TERN Data:
TERN facility Kind of data available Where can I access [+ submit] data ?
ACEF
Key datasets include coastal
Via TDDP or ACEF portal:
Australian
bathymetry, coastal habitats, water
acef.tern.org.au/portal/
Coastal
quality, beach morphology, turtle
Ecosystems
distribution and habitat
[Submit – jonathan.hodge@csiro.au]
Facility
Australian
SuperSite
Network
(ASN)
Vegetation composition, structure and
cover; fauna surveys; soil properties;
gas and energy flux (see OzFlux below);
meteorology; surface, ground and soil
water
Via TDDP or ASN portal:
www.tern-supersites.net.au/knb/
[Submit – shiela.lloyd@jcu.edu.au]
Australian
Transect
Network
(ATN)
Vegetation and soil surveys, including
specimens.
Via AEKOS data portal www.aekos.org.au or
Soils to Satellites soils2sat.ala.org.au/
(In future will also be searchable from TDDP)
Specimens (vegetation voucher samples and
soils) stefan.caddy-retalic@adelaide.edu.au
Eco-
Informatics
Ecological data from individual sites,
and from broadscale surveys.
Data from AusPlots and the Australian
Transect Network, alongside key data
from State and Federal partners.
See AEKOS data publication schedule
for more detail.
www.aekos.org.au
(In progress of submitting metadata to TDDP)
[submit - www.aekos.org.au/access_shared]

20. TERN Data:
TERN facility Kind of data available Where can I access [+ submit] data ?
eMAST
Modelled climate and land surface data
Ecosystem
derived from surface observations.
Modelling and
Scaling
Infrastructure
Partially available via eMAST:
www.tern.org.au/e-MAST-Data-Products-pg26355.
html
(In progress of submitting metadata to TDDP)
[Submit - bradley.evans@mq.edu.au]
LTERN
Long-Term
Ecological
Research
Network
Vegetation composition, structure and
cover; fauna surveys; surface, ground
and soil water
Via TDDP or LTERN portal:
www.ltern.org.au/knb/
[Contact emma.burns@anu.edu.au ]
OzFlux CO2 and other gas concentration and
fluxes; evapotranspiration; surface
energy balance; carbon and water
cycles
Via TDDP or OzFlux portal:
ozflux.its.monash.edu.au/ecosystem/home
[Submit -pisaac.ozflux@gmail.com ]
Soil and
Landscape
Grid of
Australia
Functional soil attributes and key
landscape features.
Under development. Best available data
products via TDDP:
http://portal.tern.org.au/search#!/q=soils/p=
1/tab=collection/group=Soils/num=10
[Submit - mike.grundy@csiro.au]

21. • Other data stores and sources?

22. • Other data stores and sources?

23. • Other data stores and sources?

24. Data Collection
Examples of Open Data Collection Options and Tools
• Open Data Kit and Google Tables/Maps/Engines
• TERN Auscover applications
• ALA applications
• Other government examples for citizen science

25. Data Collection
Examples of Open Data Collection Options and Tools
• Open Data Kit and Google Tables/Maps/Engines

26. Data Collection
Examples of Open Data Collection Options and Tools
• TERN Auscover applications -
http://www.auscover.org.au/xwiki/bin/view/Field+Sites/ODK+Forms

27. Data Collection
Examples of Open Data Collection Options and Tools
• TERN Auscover applications https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=1Cy-tes5-
za7XAGfYueIgwZWUDecRzETT4KZFM6Fk#map:id=3

28. Data Collection
Examples of Open Data Collection Options and Tools
• Other government examples for citizen science
https://ir3h5.enketo.formhub.org/webform

29. Topic Presentations

30. Summary and Exit Survey
Australian Ecosystem Science Long Term Plan – six key directions

31. Summary and Exit Survey
Summary: Learning objectives - revisited
• What do we want people to walk away with?
• high level of knowledge of what ecosystem data is available and how to get it;
• understanding of why good data management matters and what the benefits are
for you;
• understanding of spectrum of options for data collection and management;
• understanding of how TERN and similar facilities fit into that spectrum;
• understanding of data collection, publishing and sharing options; and
• entry level appreciation of what new things are possible with this advanced
infrastructure

32. Summary and Exit Survey
Exit Survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G5KSGCV

33. International Partners
TERN is supported by the Australian Government through
the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy
and the Super Science Initiative

34. Questions?
Stuart Phinn
s.phinn@uq.edu.au
Siddeswara Guru
s.guru@uq.edu.au
www.tern.org.au