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The results of the virtual tree sampling tutorial showed that the haphazard sampling method is the most efficient in terms of time spent, at a total of 12 hours and 30 minutes. This is in contrast to systematic sampling which took 12 hours 37 minutes and random sampling at 12 hours and 51 minutes.
Haphazard sampling is the most accurate method for common species. When measured with the haphazard method, the two most common species, Eastern Hemlock and Red Maple, had percentage errors of 3.34% and 29.7% respectively. In contrast, systematic sampling was the least accurate method for both species (18.3% for Eastern Hemlock and 41.3% for Red Maple).
Systematic sampling is the most accurate for some rare species but not others. For Striped Maple systematic sampling had a percentage error of 14.3% and for White Pine 185%. Random and haphazard sampling had a percentage error of 100% for White Pine.
For common species all sampling methods were relatively accurate. Accuracy declined for all methods as species rarity increased. The most rare species, White Pine, had the lowest accuracy for all sampling methods. For rare species, 24 sampling units may not be enough to get an accurate representation of their abundance. Therefore, although time consuming, increasing the sampling unit size may be necessary when studying rare species of trees and other plant life. Increasing sampling unit quantity would increase accuracy of abundance for all species, both rare and common.
