User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The initial collection of my data began with deciding how large I wanted to set my transect and the degree of information that I want to convey. I used a random sampling strategy so picking an area to sample was not difficult. At first, I wanted to make five-meter transects running perpendicularly into an ecotone, and then split the five-meter section into 1m2 quadrats. Upon walking the transect I quickly found out that this would be too small, and adjusted by stretching my transect into a fifteen-meter transect.
My sampling strategy is to use cover class and average height within a m2 transect to help express the density and health of Himalayan blackberry within an ecotone. At first, I had trouble with being too methodical in taking average heights of plants. I would record four individual heights within a quadrat and then average the four numbers. I quickly learned that this was going to take too much time. I decided to note the three highest sprouts or patches, and then take an average height of these. For cover class I used six different categories ranked one through six (0-5%;5-25%; 25-50%; 50-75%; 75-95%; 95-100%). Moreover, when recording my data would also try to identify each plant’s species within the differing ecotone zone, but upon reviewing my notes I thought that this may have been outside of the scope of my research.
I also made a physical transect line via flaggers tape with one-meter quadrats sectioned off. I was able to string this along two pathways in my backyard, but have a feeling this will be hard to replicate in the field with growing blackberry vines. For this reason, I decided to replicate 1 m via a large stride, and then each stride I walked would be equal to one transect.
