A landowner hires you to assess the current and future tree community on his/her

Question

A landowner hires you to assess the current and future tree community on his/her farmland. The timberland is broken up into three different sections. One area is on a floodplain of a nearby river; another is the upland area near the farm. Beeches dominate the upland community, while ash dominate the floodplain community. Other tree species are also found in these two areas. In the interest of harvest, what are the overstory trees that are available versus the seedlings that will be ready for harvest in the next 30 years? Describe what data you would collect to assess the overstory tree composition and the understory seedling composition. Identify the field methods used (1 pts), the data collected in the field (2 pts), and describe all necessary data analysis

Explanation / Answer

In order to quantify vegetation patterns, it is necessary to use more than one sampling technique. Proper sampling technique depends on the type of vegetation to be sampled. Ground cover plants are easily sampled with a 1 m2 quadrate (a hoola hoop or rectangular frame placed on the ground). It would not be possible, however, to sample overstory trees with a 1 m2 quadrate. It is necessary, then, to divide the vegetation into sampling units that reflect the two dominant growth forms: overstory trees and understory vegetation. One would use quadrate plots to sample the density and species composition of understory vegetation and the point-quarter technique to sample the density, frequency and dominance of overstory trees.

Data collection:

Overstory trees: Sample using the point-quarter method.

1.     Using the tape measure establish a 60 m (200') transect across the region of the wood lot that your group has been assigned. Locate sample points at 10 m (33') intervals. You should be able to complete six points.

2.     At each point bisect the transect line with an imaginary perpendicular line. There are now four quarters, or quadrants, surrounding the point. Do not confuse the quadrant used here with the quadrate discussed previously. Remember that a quadrate is another term for a fixed-area sampling unit.

3.     Begin with the quadrant at the upper left-hand corner and designate it

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