Experimental Design for MDC Pine Rockland - TREC-Agroecology/plant-diversity GitHub Wiki

Plot size = 20m2 = 65.6ft x 65.6ft.
- Nested subplot sizes = 100m2, 10m2, 1m2
Perimeter measurements and flag placements.
- Sixty-six (66) total pin flags needed per plot.
- Eighteen (18) blue perimeter flags, two (2) per corner.
- Forty-eight (48) orange nested subplot flags.
A 20 m sting was used with notches at the following measurements: 3.2 m, 6.8 m, 10 m, 13.2 m, 16.8 m.
Plots were set up with a north orientation with a compass.
The first point to be set was either the SE (32) or SW (31) corner point.
A 20 m string with notches for each subplot was stretched to the direct northern point, and the direction was double-checked with a compass.
Flags were placed at all the notches respective to the subplots.
Once the eastern or western boundary was set, the northern or southern boundaries were set up in the same fashion.
The 20 m string was stretched, the direction was checked with the compass, and flags were placed down.
This repeated along the four boundaries.
Then, the middle points were established with the same method.
The 20 m is held from end to end, double-checking the direction with the compass for accuracy, and then flags were placed down.

A general guideline from NEON: if new species are being found, keep searching, covering the entire area in a systematic manner such as walking the perimeter lines or a grid. If after ten minutes of gently moving dominant species to look for small and locally rare individuals – even crawling if necessary – while searching the entire subplot and no new species are found, then spend another ten to fifteen minutes and move on.
A plot should take 2-6 hours for a team of two to complete. The time required will vary depending on several factors: species richness at the site, the density of vegetation, taxonomic expertise, and environmental conditions.