Subject:Biodiversity
Subsubject: Field Research technique
Huseynzade Gulare
Vegetation Characteristics
Some commonly measured characteristics • Vegetation structure
Vegetation structure
Phenology
Primary productivity
Leaf area index
Vegetation health\vigor
Vegetation structure
When we discribe a site we often begin
by describing what the vegetation looks
like. We use term such as open woodland
(açıq meşə sahəsi ) or sagebrush steppe
(Çöl adaçayı), mountain meadows
(çəmənliklər) or tall grass prairie (Çayır).
The term that we use evoke images of
what the vegetation looks like as well as
the species that are included. It provides
information about the three-dimensional
or spatial arrangement of the plants, and
we refer to this the three-dimensional
arrangement of plants.
As vegetation structure is an
important attribute for both wildlife
and livestock management, because
it provides essential information about
different qualities of wildlife habitat,
especially wildlife cover. For example,
we can get information about the
amount of cover available for shelter
for nesting or bedding or for thermal
regulation or cover for concealment,
such as hiding cover or for hunting or
escape cover, because animals
interact with their environment as
they move through it.
Well, vegetation structure is the three-dimensional distribution of plant biomass, but how do we
actually measure it? If we look at these two pictures here, they are both open woodlands but they
have very different arrangement of plant material. You can see in the image on the left there is a
shrub layer but not much of an herbaceous component compared to the image on the right. Where
there is a lot of material in the herbaceous layer and not nearly as many shrubs in order to
describe the three-dimensional nature of vegetation. We need describe both the horizontal cover
and vertical cover.
Measurements
In order to measure
vegetation structure we
often take multiple
measurements that are
most often used to describe
vegetation structure are
canopy cover, gap intercept,
vegetation height, and
visual obstruction.
Now canopy cover characterizes horizontal cover and we have already reviewed this we
know that when we measure canopy cover and report it. We often are reporting total cover
but we do not have information about plant spacing reporting total cover but we do not have
information about plant spacing. Line-point intercept is one of the best methods that we will
be looking at.
Gap intercept also characterizes horizontal cover but in this case we are able to get
information about plant spacing or arrangements of plants with gap intercept. We can
report either canopy gaps or basal gaps. If we look at this illustration here we see a
number of plants that are intersected by a transect and these plants have canopy,
larger part and then there is a darker part in each one which represents the base of the
plant. We can measure either the canopy gaps, or the distance along the transect
between the canopy.
. This is the very similar to
continuous line intercept
method that is in reverse, we
are not measuring the length
of the canopy, we are
measuring the length of the
interception of the gaps
between canopies. We can
also measure basal gaps the
length of these basal gaps
provides information about
vegetation structure that is
useful in certain situations. In
most cases canopy gap
intercept information is used
for vegetation structure
although basal gap
information may be applicable
for certain systems.
The way that we measure
this is we have to decide
where a gap starts and
where it ends. In order to
start gap has to have a
minimum length of at least
20 centimeters. And we
decide gap is broken or we
will end the measurement on
a gap. If 50 percent of a
three centimeter segment is
broken by canopy.
For example, we see a
gap that starts at
38santimeters and 77
centimeters for a total
gap length of 39
centimeters.
Now you may have wondered
why we did not draw this gap
out to this larger canopy
here, because of this rule, the
3cm segment has been
broken, more than 50 % of a
3 cm segment includes
canopy< because of that, the
gap does not extend beyond
this point.
There is another candidate
gap over here. We would
start this at 140 cm and end
it at 152 cm, because it is
less than 20 centimeters.
We would not consider that
to be a gap. Now instead of
just totaling all the gaps
sizes overall in order to be
able to talk about the spatial
distribution of plants and so
with gap intercept data.
We analyze the data by
summarizing the gaps into
different gap size classes. Here we
see diagram showing a 10-meter
transect that is interesting three
different hypothetical plant
communities. They have different
spatial arrangements. We can see
in Transect A that the plants are
clumped together with very large
gaps in between. Transect B, the
plants are a little bit more
distributed and the gap sizes tend
to be smaller and in Transect C we
can see that the gap sizes are
generally quite small.
If we analyze this, we
would report that 100
percent of the gaps in
Transect A were in the
largest gap class which is
greater 200 centimeters
and in transect C. 87 % of
the gaps were in the
smallest size class for gaps,
25 to 50 centimeters. This
kind of information gives us
important data to relate to
vegetation structure.
Vegetation height is the first
type of measurements were
going to look at that
characterizes vertical cover.
When we are measuring
vegetation height we measure
the height of both woody and
herbaceous layers. This is
usually done using a height
stick as you see the observer
using in the image and we take
multiple measurements along a
transect.
The way this works is by envisioning an
imaginary cylinder around the height stick
that is 30 centimeters in diameter. And we
can use a couple of tools to make sure that
we maintain this cylinder. We can see either
use a disc, kind of like a Frisbee with a hole
cut out that can move up and down the
height stick or we can use a ruler that is
either 30 centimeters in length or 15
centimeters. If we are going to looking at
the radius you can see here the observer is
using a ruler that is 30 centimeters in
length, or 12 inches and it is centered on
the height stick.
Now the way we take the measurements is by
observing the plants and the plant material that
occurs inside this. Imaginary cylinder in this case,
remember we are going to measure both woody
plant and herbaceous plant height we measure the
maximum height of woody plant material where it
occurs inside this imaginary cylinder and so that
would be at 40 cm. For the herbaceous plants that
occurs within the confines of the cylinder and
would take the measurement on the grass plant at
19 cm because it is the tallest part of herbaceous
material that occurs within that cylinder would
record this species as well as the height for both
herbaceous and the woody plant. Note that we
don’t measure the tallest part of the grass that
occurs outside of the cylinder and these
measurement usually are taken as multiple
measurements along a transect and you simply
average the values of the height measurements of
both woody and herbaceous component.
Sampling Methods
Measuring biotic components of a system
Sampling
• What is a sample?
• “A portion, piece, or segment that is representative of a whole”
• Why do we sample?
• it is usually impossible to measure the whole
One big assumption…
• That the sample is representative of the whole
• It is necessary to take enough samples so that an accurate
representation is obtained
• It is important to avoid bias when sampling
Sampling Methods
• Transects and Quadrants
• Plants and Non-motile animals
• Lincoln Index
• Capture –Mark- Recapture
• Small animals
• Aerial observations
• Large trees and animals
Braun-Blanquet Methods
Measuring ecosystems
• Scientists use many methods to study these interactions/ecosystems.
• Observation is a vital tool.
• Direct surveys = watch animals with their own eyes and see how they interact
• Indirect surveys = check for signs of animals and try to guess interactions
• For plants we use quadrat sampling.
• Check a small sample area and calculate larger number
Ecological Techniques
A variety of universal practical approaches
exist for investigating the biotic and abiotic
components of ecosystems
Field ecologists investigate communities by using
random sampling techniques that aim to:
• eliminate bias
• reduce the effects of chance
• minimise errors in obtaining
measurements/samples
Quadrat and transect sampling are commonly used
methods for investigating distribution within plant
communities and the more sedentary populations of
animals such as those found inhabiting seashores
Quadrats
Frame quadrats are wooden or metal
frames of known area (e.g. 0.25 m2, 0.5 m2,
1.0 m2) and are generally square-shaped
Various approaches are used to determine the
representation of species within an area:
• Species population density (number of individuals per
square metre) is determined by counting all individuals
within a series of randomly placed quadrat frames and
calculating the mean
• Percentage cover is determined subjectively by assessing
the extent to which different species occupy subdivided
quadrat frames or by the use of point quadrat frames
• Frequency of occurrence of a species is determined using
subdivided quadrats and point quadrat frames
Quadrat sampling is a classic tool for the study
of ecology, especially biodiversity.
In general, a series of squares (quadrats) of a
set size are placed in a habitat of interest and
the species within those quadrats are identified
and recorded.
Simply throw the grid out and
find an average number of
organisms with some basic
math.
Quadrat sampling involves counting all individuals within a known
area (or volume).
Since density (D) and population size (N) are related, as N = D x
area, we can estimate the density for the sample and from this
compute the total population. ...
Instead, we can calculate the average of these samples.
Friday Field Lab
• Page 401 of textbook—
Quadrats and Population Size
• T= N/A T=total population estimate
N=#of individuals counted
# of quadrats
A= total area
area of quadrat
Thanks
For your attention
