iTree Eco - 31 acre wooded park

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potyondy
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:09 pm

iTree Eco - 31 acre wooded park

Post by potyondy » Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:19 pm

I am trying to put together an iTree Eco analysis of a 31 acre park. The park is mostly wooded with a hanful of ponds and wetlands. When I used the random plot iTree mxd I am getting some over lapping plots. I used 30 plots at 1/10 acre. The area does not generally have much variation save for the small ponds and wet areas. I would most like to get a good sense of the forest structure (e.g., species composition, number of trees, tree density, tree health, etc.).
Any advice on the best way to set this up would be really helpful. Thank you!
smaco
i-Tree Team
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2006 1:40 pm

Post by smaco » Fri Jul 01, 2011 11:17 am

Hello,
1/10th acre plots are the standard and recommended size for your typical citywide sample. When conducting a sample for a small area, you still want to maintain a minimum of 30 plots, but the size of the plot can be adjusted down--say by half--which would reduce overlap and possibly allow you to increase your sample size. --Scott
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potyondy
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 4:09 pm

Post by potyondy » Tue Jul 05, 2011 1:31 pm

Thank you for your reply. I'll reduce the plot size as you suggest. I was tempted to re-run the random plot generator until the plots did not overlap; but something tells me I should not be influencing the randomization by selecting something that "looks" better.

Thanks,

Philip
azelaya
i-Tree Team
Posts: 372
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:50 am

Plot overlap follow up

Post by azelaya » Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:20 pm

I just wanted to add a comment as it is possible to have plots that overlap as plot center points are generated randomly within a study area. Those plots are still good and trees would be collected accordingly as they fall within the boundary of each plot. So one or more or the same trees could conceivably be collected for different plots in this type of situation. Al
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