There are various ways to sample the vegetation and plants, including the quadrat sampling approach. For ecologists, the importance of field sampling is enormous since it helps to stabilize the distribution of plant species. To comprehend the structure and function of a certain area, the gathered data is used to identify the dominating plant species. In order to comprehend the thoroughness of plant and vegetation sample, a 100 m2 area was formed, and the quadratic technique was used to achieve the study's goal.
Introduction
In this lab, the aim is to develop skills and techniques that are commonly used in ecology sampling. The experiment undertaken utilized quadrat sampling technique. The sampling technique involved randomly selecting squares referred to as quadrats of 0.5m by 0.5 m where species of plants in that region were counted. The technique is repeated severally throughout the selected area. The collected data is then assessed to establish the dominant species of plant in the selected area (Southwood & Henderson, 2009). Importantly, it is worth to mention that the multiple quadrats (squares) are randomly placed. In the instance where true randomness cannot be undertaken, the quadrats are haphazardly selected. Therefore, it can be argued that determining where to place the quadrats is challenging. In the case of this experiment, the quadrats are placed at one pace away following a straight line. According to the adopted technique used to place the quadrats, reliability and accuracy can easily be established (Sankaran, Mishra, Ehsani and Davis, 2010).Material and methods
In fulfilling the objective of the experiment, 1 tape measure, 4 thin stakes, record sheets, and 2 plastic bags were required. The tape measure was used to accurately measure the size of quadrats and the area where the study was going to be undertaken. The thin stakes were used to mark the 0.5m by 0.5 m quadrats so that accurate counting of species in that area could be established. The record sheets were used to record data from the counting. The two plastic bags were used to collect the species of plants that were increasing in counts to enable plotting of graphs. The experiment was undertaken in a well-vegetated area measuring at an area of 100 m2. The initial step involved selecting an imaginary straight line where the first quadrat was established, and the 4 thin stakes were used to make the first quadrat measuring 0.5m by 0.5m (0.5m2). The plant's species within the area of the quadrat were established through a counting method to determine the dominant species. Since it was not possible to establish the names of all the plants, letters A, B, C, and D were used. The second step involved taking one pace and establishing the second quadrat following a straight line. In ensuring the absence of bias in establishing the quadrats, the area was evenly covered in placing all the 20 quadrats.Results
Plot
Species found and numbers
Cumulative species richness
1
A (2) C(3) D (1)
6
2
A (3) B(1) C (2)
6
3
A (4) B(2) C(1)
7
4
A
3
5
A (3)C(1) D(2)
6
6
A(4) B(1) D(1) C(1)
7
7
A(6) C(1)
7
8
Bare ground
3
9
A B(1) G(1)
7
10
Bare ground
4
11
A
8
12
A
5
13
A(3) D (2)
5
14
A D(1) E(2)
6
15
A G(5)
9
16
A (3) B(1) D(1)
9
17
A C(1) E(2)
7
18
A B(1)
7
19
Bare ground
7
20
A (2) B (1) C (2)
8Graph 1.0 showing representation of cumulative speciesAs presented in the collected data, it was discovered that specie A was the most dominant plant and grew in all the areas where the quadrat was placed. The second dominant specie as presented by the result is specie B plant. However, there were plant species that were not captured because they were not evenly distributed. The rare plant species were few and were randomly distributed hence could not be captured. Therefore, the results of the study only depict the dominant specie, and the less occurring specie is hardly captured by the 0.5m by 0.5m quadrat.According to the results depicted in graph 1.0, the graph represents the distribution of the captured plant species by the quadrat. The visual presentation reveals that the captured plants are not evenly distributed and tend to occur randomly within the area of study. The graphical presentation further indicates that the area of study had rare other plant species that were not captured by the sampling technique.
Discussion
Quadratic sampling technique, when undertaken without bias, can give accurate results. In the 100m2 area where quadratic sampling was undertaken using a 0.5m by 0.5m square at the uniform spacing for the 20 set attempt, it can be argued that the representative sample was derived. Through random observation, it was seen that the area was dominated by specie A plant. Using the quadratic sampling technique, it was discovered that the dominant specie was Plant A then followed by B. Thus; it can be argued that quadratic sampling achieved the desired result because the same result gotten through the quadratic technique was replicated through random observation.In answering the question whether the experiment achieved the full complement species for the site, it can be argued that the study accurately reveals the plant population as well as the distribution within the 100m2 area. However, the area was covered by more than 15 plant species. However, most of the plant species were rare and were countable. Therefore, it can be argued that the quadratic sampling technique captured the dominant plant species that grow in the area. In this case, it can further be stated that the quadratic technique failed to capture all the plant's species present in the area of study.In ensuring that the results of the study are more accurate and precise, the number of quadrats should be increased. The first experiment utilized 20 quadrats of 0.5m by 0.5 m that failed to capture all the plant species. Instead, the study managed to capture the dominant plant species that occurred in the area. In the instance when the number of quadrats was increased to 40 where each quadrat measures 1m by 1m the result accuracy of the study will increase by a high margin because there will be more coverage per unit area where even the less occurring plant species would be recorded.According to the results of the study, the dominant plant species were evenly distributed because the results could be verified using random observation. However, some species were not evenly distributed and occurred more times in different areas. For instance, species B plant was not evenly distributed and occurred more in some part of the study. As a result, the first attempt of 20 quadrats could not capture the population size of species B plant accurately. Therefore, in enhancing accuracy, the number of quadrats should be increased to ensure even coverage of the sampling technique.References
Sankaran, S., Mishra, A., Ehsani, R., & Davis, C. (2010). A review of advanced techniques for detecting plant diseases. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 72(1), 1-13.
Southwood, T. R. E., & Henderson, P. A. (2009). Ecological methods. John Wiley & Sons.
