I'd like to investigate the variety and composition of tree species in a certain woodland area. I've seen numerous methods in papers, but I'm not sure which one will be the most effective. Is there a quadrat approach that we can use to investigate the diversity of tree species?
Hi,
There are several quadrat protocols.
If you are interested only in tree diversity, you need to create a species-area curve.
In the simplest method (nested) you begin with a small quadrat in which you identify the number of tree species. Then you proceed to delineate a quadrat that is twice in length and count the new species appearing. You increase the size of the quadrats until your species-area curve reach a plateau.
The issue of the size of your quadrats will depend on several factors such as the area of the forest, forest heterogeneity, the size of the trees (you could want to identify only adult trees, or could even want to identify seedling stages).
If the forest is very large and heterogeneous, I would not advise to use only one set of nested quadrats due to sample representativity issues. We have used a form
of "lineal sampling" with quadrats that cross any forest variability gradients, using systematic sampling with random selection of the initial quadrat. Of course you have to take into account time, money, and ways to get a correct identification of the tree species.
Most books in Quantitative Ecology, Forest Ecology, and related fields explain various techniques. Also, it is easy to find software to determine the main statistics needed in measuring biodiversiy variables (one of the is EstimateS).
Regards
to extend the quadrat for studying the diversity of tree species in the forest. First is to plant diversity of tress species under the umbrella of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). Second is to obtain forest certification under the scheme of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for competitive marketing.
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