Open AccessEvaluation of Plot-Scale Methods for Assessing and Monitoring Salt Marsh Vegetation Composition and Cover
Author(s) -
Kenneth B. Raposa,
Thomas E. Kutcher,
Wenley Ferguson,
Richard A. McKinney,
Ken Miller,
Cathleen Wigand
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
northeastern naturalist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.27
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1938-5307
pISSN - 1092-6194
DOI - 10.1656/045.027.0113
Subject(s) - marsh , salt marsh , vegetation (pathology) , vegetation cover , plot (graphics) , scale (ratio) , ecology , environmental science , geography , floristics , plant community , physical geography , cartography , biology , wetland , species richness , mathematics , statistics , land use , medicine , pathology
Vegetation is a key component of salt marsh monitoring programs, but different methods can make comparing datasets difficult. We compared data on vegetation composition and cover collected with 3 methods (point-intercept, Braun-Blanquet visual, and floristic quality assessment [FQA]) in 3 Rhode Island salt marshes. No significant differences in plant community composition were found among the methods, and differences in individual species cover in a marsh never exceeded 6% between methods. All methods were highly repeatable, with no differences in data collected by different people. However, FQA was less effective at identifying temporal changes at the plot scale. If data are collected from many plots in a marsh, any of the methods are appropriate, but if plot-scale patterns are of interest, we recommend point-intercept.