VEGETATION SURVEY

Vegetation survey is carried out in order to evaluate whether reclamation and

re-vegetation efforts had been successful and to what extent.

The following methods are used to measure plant growth –

1. Frequency
2. Density
3. Above Ground Biomass Production (or simply called Production)
4. Plant Cover

Frequency describes the abundance and distribution of species and is useful

to detect changes in a plant community over time.

Density is basically the number of individuals per unit area. The term refers to
the closeness of individual plants to one another. Density is rarely used as a
measurement by itself when describing plant communities because
comparisons can only be based on similar life-form and size.

Production is measured as the mass of dried plant material covering a given

amount of ground surface area. In order to determine aboveground biomass
production, frames of a specified area are placed either at random locations or
along a transect line within the area to be measured. All aboveground plant
parts are clipped just above the ground surface, dried until they reach a
constant weight, then the final weight is recorded. Plant production gives a
more quantitative measure of plant growth, especially if plant growth is thick
or comprises multiple layers over the ground surface. Nevertheless, plant
cover is often a more convenient assessment method than production because
a cover measurement or estimate does not require a destructive harvest of the
sampled plants.

Plant Cover is the most common method of Vegetation Survey. It is generally

referred to as the percentage of ground surface covered by vegetation.
However, numerous definitions exist. It can be expressed in absolute terms
(square meters/hectares) but is most often expressed as a percentage. The
objective of the Vegetation Survey determines the definition and type of Plant
Cover Measurement. Thus –
 i) Vegetation cover is the total cover of vegetation on a site,
ii) Foliar cover is the area of ground covered by the vertical projection
of the aerial portions of the plants,
iii) Canopy cover is the area of ground covered by the vertical projection
of the outermost perimeter of the natural spread of foliage of plants,
iv) Basal cover is the area of ground surface occupied by the basal
portion of the plants.

Measurement of Plant Cover

Plant cover can be measured or estimated in four main ways, all of which have
advantages and disadvantages. These are –
i) The point intercept
ii) The line intercept
iii) The subplot frequency, and
iv) The visual estimate method.

The point intercept method utilizes a frame interlaced with a grid of equally
spaced points. The frame is placed over the vegetation and the type of plant at
each point of grid intersection is recorded. For a less detailed survey, the
observer can simply record the number of points that hit live vegetation. The
total number of points available on the grid then divides the number of grid
points that hit live vegetation. This ratio is converted into a percent for the
percent live cover estimate.

The line intercept method uses a theory similar to the point intercept method.
To perform a line intercept cover measurement, a line of known length is set
on the ground. The length of the line that intercepts each encountered species
is divided by the total length of the line to give a proportion of the line
intercepted by that species. Again, the proportion is multiplied by 100 to give a
percent cover estimate for each species intercepted.

In the subplot frequency method, one divides a frame, which will be placed on
the ground, into a grid. The grid is placed over vegetation in random sampling
locations, and the number of the 'subplots' (grid spaces) that have vegetation
in them are counted. The number of subplots that contain vegetation is
divided by the total number of subplots in the grid, then multiplied by 100 to
obtain an estimate of plant cover.

Visual estimates of plant cover are often preferred in applied contexts for their
rapidity. This method estimates the percent of the ground area covered by
different classes of vegetation within a specified area or frame. The percent of
cover attributed to the different vegetation classes can then be summed by
the observer for a total estimate of plant canopy cover.