The following is adapted from a vegetation sampling lab I did in college.
INTRODUCTION
In order to properly study an area, one has to know certain characteristics of that area. Studying the vegetation of an area has its many benefits. These include allowing us to understand the difference between communities, describe habitat, and understand how vegetation reacts to certain environmental gradients. In this lab, we focused on using the point-centered quarter method to characterize a forested slope.
From the data collected we can calculate average density per hectare, relative density, density, basal area, relative basal area, frequency, relative frequency, importance value, and relative importance value. These values allow us to compare characteristics among different species. This was the main objective of this lab.
METHODS
This study took place on Pine Hill Alfred, NY on September 9th, 2013. Following the gas pipeline trail behinds Ann’s House on the bearing N10Wo we walked 5 meters off the gas pipeline trail. At that point we placed the center of a quadrant composed of 90o quarters. Quarters 1 and 2 faced North, 1 being on the East side. Quarters 3 and 4 faced South, with 3 being on the East side. We determined the four closest trees to the quadrant, with a diameter at breast height over 10 cm. For each tree we calculated the distance from the quadrant, diameter at breast height, and the tree’s species. The same process was repeated for a quadrate located 25 meters from the path.
A young naturalist 