Vegetation Plot Sampling Protocol

We will sample between four and eight plots on the Pace University – Pleasantville campus. Our sampling will be in line with what is used to measure vegetation around nest sites in the USGS Breeding Bird Survey project. The GPS points will serve as a means of finding the center of each plot. The center will be marked temporarilly with a flag, and permenatnly with a metal pipe at a later time. From the center, a circle with 11 meter radius will be measured, and within this circle, all trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) greater than 9 CM will be identified. Within a circle with a 5 meter radius, all species will be identified (to the extent possible) and a Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance rank will be assigned. For difficult to identify species (sedges and grasses), we will make one measurement of cover-abundance for all species combined, then to the extent possible, a measure for each species separately.