Sample plots relocating and substitution

[45Joana-bana]

Dear i-Tree team

I have created a total of 223 random sample plots and randomly distributed them within eight strata of the study area based on the size of each stratum. These sample plots are uploaded to the i-Tree Eco together with the land use strata. It is expected that these randomly distributed sample plots within different land use strata would fall in some prohibited land uses to access. Indeed, collecting data within a few land uses where sample plots felled totally inaccessible is the challenge we are experiencing. Unfortunately, I have no additional (contingency) plots created for these land-use strata. Thus, is it possible to relocate these totally inaccessible plots to land uses with identical stratum/land use type and vegetation coverage? If possible, how the collected data from the new (relocated) plots will be added to the model?

[Jason.Henning]

Hello,
You can import or manually add additional plots at any point in time. You can do this through the same procedure you used previously but you will need to make sure the editing mode is set to "On". Alternatively, you can add new plots directly in the "Plots" table under the "Data" tab by setting the "Editing Mode" to "On" and clicking on the last row of the plot table. Please pay close attention to the warnings when changing the editing mode as you can easily lose data if you are not careful. I would suggest creating a backup project of your project before making any of these changes.
Additionally, you should be careful when adding new plots to avoid any potential bias in your sample. If your sample becomes less random because you are not visiting many plots with similar characteristics you will get inaccurate estimates and you will compromise your ability to perform any post-stratification. A statistical consultant may be able to help you with this.
Thanks for your questions.
-Jason