Blog Post 5- Design Reflections

My initial data collection for Module 3 involved taking systematic quadrant samples of native & invasive alien plant communities within two separate locations. Using the multiple transect sampling technique, ten quadrants were laid out along each transect, roughly 5 meters apart. Each quadrant sampled was 1m/square in size, using a homemade PCV pipe observation quadrat device. The first sample location site (Site A) was taken along an of leash dog area; A coastal bluff which was comprised of mostly degraded bare soil & rocky outcrop, also greatly worn due to human & canine traffic. The second sample location site (Site B) was an area that is *supposed to be* off limits to canine & human traffic. I found that this was clearly not the case, as human & canine activity is often observed in these no access areas & unfortunately, I suspect my results were skewed due to this. This location was in the same park as my first site, although the samples were taken approximately 100 feet away from the first site throughout a sloping wetland, lush marsh / meadow. The park contains pubic info boards which describe that it contains SARA plant populations (Federal Species at Risk Act) & to obey the signage which clearly indicates out of bound locations.

I did have some difficulties when implementing sampling strategies for my second sampling site (Site B), in the marshland / meadow transect sample areas. I did not want to tread on a location that was “out of bounds” to the public, so I leaned over the fence (which is only about 3 ft high) & floated my sample device over top of the sample area, recording my observations as I went along the transect. The first sample site was much easier (Site A), as I could actually place my sample device on the ground, making it much easier to observe, write down my observations, & even take pictures when necessary.

The data collected at Site B was quite surprising to me. I expected to find a greater diversity and density of plant species observed, due to the fact that this area was restricted. Unfortunately I found that most people (including a few mountain bikers!) did not observe the areas that contained SARA species & were clearly marked as out of bounds. My low plant counts in Site B reflected this. Site A is a well used, high foot traffic area, so I did expect the plant species & density to be a bit lower than Site B. I was not expecting that my results would show the density & diversity to be as similar in numbers as it turned out to be.

With regard to collecting data, & for the sake of my field research project, I will modify my approach slightly. I will still use the sampling device I made & method used, but I will observe my samples in different areas that what was chosen for Module 3. I will expand my transect line & quadrats out by a few more meters between each sample. I am hopeful that these modifications will improve my research. My explanatory variable – I will observe plant composition communities along a drier & more exposed coastal bluff in one site, vs. plant composition communities observed in a higher elevation site with a different overstory (meadow). I will be looking to observe plant composition community differences between site A (bluff) and site B (meadow).