BIO103 Environmental Science Vegetation and Plant Sampling Practical 5 The Determination of the Optimal Number of Quadrats to Sample Vegetation in a Backyard
Abstract Documenting species richness across different landscapes has a major significance for conservation efforts and ecological theory development. In this study, 20 quadrant samples were assessed in a 0.5m x 0.5m plot in a backyard by 1 observer to determine plant species richness and diversity. The collected data consisted of 7 different observed plant species and demonstrated that after 16 quadrants, no new species were identified. Moreover, the practical revealed the importance of plant biodiversity samples and suggested that sampling time, observer effects and environmental conditions should be considered for future trials.
Introduction The conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems is vital for preserving species richness in a given area. Although, previous studies state that documenting and understanding patterns of plant diversity in local, regional and global scales remains a challenge within the field of biogeography (Zhang et al., 2014). For that reason, not all species will be detected, and failing to sample vegetation can result in false results, leading to biases in species distribution, population sizes and management decisions for rare or threatened species (Zhang et al., 2014). Therefore, vegetation sampling and estimating plant patterns have become increasingly important, given that climate change and environmental degradation is rapidly occurring. When studying the composition of species within a community, an adequate measuring tool known as the quadrant method is utilised to identify species richness. Recording species from several quadrants, which increases in size, helps determine the optimal area of a quadrant needed to sample any environment (Calver, 2021). Given these circumstances, reliable estimations can only be obtained with relatively complete and non-biased samples of diversity and robust estimation methods (Zhang et al., 2014). Thus, the following research attempts to investigate the frequency and occurrence of particular plant species from 20 systemically selected plots in a backyard in North Queensland. Therefore, it is predicted that the greater the number of plots, the greater the diversity of species.