Please answer the last 3 questions at the end. Thank you
Lab 10: Plant Community Ecology; Sampling for Invasive Species
In this lab you will use two different sampling methods to perform an analysis of the prevalence of two different invasive species in the wooded areas of Henry Ford Estate. The class data will be shared with the landscape director to help assess which areas most require control efforts. There are several non-disruptive methods for determining frequency and abundance of plant species, with varying tradeoffs in precision, time efficiency, facility of effort and appropriateness for different plant growth forms and distributions. (See references for explanations and comparisons of different methods.) We will use the point line transect (PLT) method for estimating percent cover of honeysuckle shrubs (Lonicera spp.), and both PLT and strip adaptive cluster sampling (SACS) for the herbaceous garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata).
You will be instructed on identifying the two species during lab, but for further information on them go to: http://www.allianceofrougecommunities.com/PDFs/PI/RGG/materials/Inasive%20plant%20guide.pdf
Procedure:
We will walk to Henry Ford Estate and receive an introduction / briefing from Karen Marzonie, landscape director. Then in groups of 3 or 4 you will begin sampling. Each group will run 2 or 4 transects of 25 m length in 3 different sample areas to be indicated on your maps.
Honeysuckle PLT sampling:
Starting from a random spot, run the tape measure 25 m lengthwise in the sample area. Have 1 or 2 people hold the ends of tape secure about waist high while the others record the data. Starting at 0, every 25 cm look directly down and record if the point touches a honeysuckle shrub or not. If there is a honeysuckle, record whether it is 1 meter or more tall, or smaller than a meter. At the end of your transect you should have 100 data points. (You might record your data as “+1,” “-1,” and “x” for 1 meter or taller, less than 1 meter and no honeysuckle, respectively. Then next transect will begin a few meters from the end of the first. If the site allows for 2 more transects, they will be run perpendicularly starting from a random point.
Garlic mustard PLT sampling:
Lay the tape measure on the ground after finishing the honeysuckle assessment and repeat the procedure above simply recording presence or absence of garlic mustard (no height assessment).
Garlic mustard SACS sampling:
Keeping the transect in place on the ground, take your quadrat frame and lay it to the left of the transect with one side touching the transect. Determine the percent cover of garlic mustard plants in the quadrat from the range of the Daubenmire cover class categories (see table) and record the category number. If there are none, simply flip the quadrat over along the transect and continue. If the garlic mustard cover is class 2 or higher, then perform a cover assessment for quadrats surrounding that quadrat on all 4 sides. Repeat outward until the quadrat is class 1 (0 – 5% cover). KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY TOTAL QUADRATS YOU ASSESS.
Cover class
1
2
3
4
5
6
Estimated % cover
0 -5
5-25
25-50
50-75
75-95
95-100
Once you have completed all the field sampling we will return to the lab and calculate the percent cover you found for each site for each species and method. To calculate percent cover in the PLT sampling method, simply sum the number of points where the plant was present and divide by the total number of points. Multiply by 100 to express as a percentage instead of decimal fraction. For honeysuckle, calculate the 2 size classes separately.
Example: You ran 2 transects of 25 m and found 36 points touching honeysuckle less than 1 meter and 28 touching ones taller than a meter. Percent cover of shorter plants = 36/(100 + 100) = 0.18. x100= 18%.
For the SACS sampling we will use a modified weighted average to estimate a range for percent cover. Sum the number of points in each class multiplied by the class category number and divide by total number of quadrats.
Example: You sampled 100 quadrats and found the following:
Class 1
2
3
4
5
6
42
34
20
3
1
0
Sum (42 x1) + (34 x 2) +(20 x 3) + (4 x 3) + (5 x 1) + (6 x 0) = 187. Divide by 100 total quadrats = 1.87. Your number falls between class categories 1 and 2, so total percent cover is greater than 5% but less than 25%.
Record your numbers on the board.
Written Report:
As always, turn in your data sheets. You may coordinate with your partners to each turn in a part, but make sure that between your group all data sheets are accounted for and turned in.
Turn in your calculated percent covers for each species, site, and sampling method summing all of your transects in each site. From the class data on the board, calculate the class average for each site, species and method.
2) Do some groups appear to have more small than large honeysuckle?
3) How do your numbers and the class numbers compare for the 2 different sampling methods of garlic mustard?
Class Data: PLT
Honey Suckle
Garlic mustard
Transect: (+/-)
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
1 my numbers
16/2
7/5
–
–
59
36
–
–
2
0/0
9/4
0/1
–
27
15
34
–
3
34/7
17/11
25/10
5/7
11
4
27
36
Average
16.6/3
11/6.7
12.5/5.5
5/7
32.3
18.3
30.5
36
Class Data: SACS
Garlic mustard, Weighted average.
Transect:
1
2
3
4
1 (my numbers)
1.44
1.48
–
–
2
1.8
1.4
1.4
–
3
1
1
1.13
1.59
Average
1.41
1.29
1.27
1.59
4) if you were managing the grounds, what other factors besides level of infestation would you consider in allocating control efforts with limited person-hours available for removal?
References
Abrahamson, I.L, C.R. Nelson and D.L.R. Affleck. 2011. Assessing the performance of sampling designs for measuring the abundance of understory plants. Ecological Applications 21(2):452-464.
Buckland, S.T., D.L. Borchers, A. Johnston, P.A. Henrys and T.A. Marques. 2007. Line transect methods for plant surveys. Biometrics 63:989-998.
Daubenmire, R. 1959. A canopy-coverage method of vegetation analysis. Northwest Science 33:43-64.
Maxwell, B.D., V. Backus, M.G. Hohmann, K.M. Irvine, P. Lawrence, E.A. Lehnhoff and L.J. Rew. 2012. Comparison of transect-based standard and adaptive sampling methods for invasive plant species. Invasive Plant Science and Management 5:178-193.
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