Part 8: Getting Started: Designating Study Locations, Photography, and Precipitation

Permanently Marking the Data Collection Location

You will need to permanently mark the location of each study with a reference post (usually a steel posts marked with bright colored spray paint). Place the post 100 feet from the actual study location. Alternatively, you can use a prominent natural marker, such as a rock or butte, and record the bearing and distance of the study areas from the marker. This information is all carefully recorded on the Study Location and Documentation Data form (pdf, 16KB).

This form provides for recording the following data:

• Study and transect locations
• Number of transects
• Starting points for collecting data
• Bearings (compass readings)
• Transect or monitoring area length
• Distance between transects
• Number of quadrats
• Sampling interval (such as steps between frame placement)
• Quadrat frame size
• Number of cover points per quadrat frame
• A sketch of the monitoring site (for example the key area)
• Other pertinent data