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Three different sampling techniques were used for today’s blog assignment in the virtual forest tutorial. These three sampling techniques were; Systematic, Random & Haphazard. 24 samples were collected in each.
The sample results are as follows, with Systematic taking the lead as the fastest estimated sampling time, by over one hour.
Systematic: 4 hrs, 3 min
Random: 5 hrs, 18 min
Haphazard: 12 hrs, 25 min
Comparision of % error between 2 common & 2 rare tree species:
Eastern Hemlock (Common), Sweet Birch (Common), Striped Maple (Rare), White Pine (Rare);
Systematic: 1.2%, 11%, 26%, 10%
Random: 17%, 6%, 10%, 10%
Haphazard: 13.9%, 3.8%, 52.6%, 48.8%
The accuracy did change with species abundance. The sampling strategy that I found to be the most accurate was the systematic strategy, as the comparison % errors are low across the different samples, & the samples were spread out over a large area, allowing for more accurate comparisons.
