SEQP Samford

The Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF) is a 51 hectare property located in subtropical Queensland, hosting the South-East Queensland Peri-Urban TERN SuperSite (SEQP Samford). SERF is situated in a broadly fragmented landscape, shaped by historical cattle grazing, logging and agriculture, and recent residential development. The site protects threatened and endangered ecosystems within a mosaic of remnant native vegetation and cleared pasture.

The site’s two dry acoustic sensors are located in open eucalypt woodland growing on soils derived from weathered granite. These forests are dominated by Pink Bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia), Grey Ironbark (Eucalyptus siderophloia), Swamp Box (Lophostemon suaveolens), and Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis).

SERF’s two wet acoustic sensors are located in notophyll vine forest on alluvial plains. This vegetation community has been heavily cleared over the past 150 years, with SERF protecting one of the few remaining intact examples growing along the banks of Samford Creek. Dominant vine forest species include Native Elm (Aphananthe philippinensis),White Kamala(Mallotus discolor), White Cedar (Melia azedarach), Bunya Pine (Araucaria bidwillii), and Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).

Both vegetation communities are home to a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, many of which are audible and readily detected by acoustic sensors.