Evaluation of Plot-scale Methods for Assessing and Monitoring Salt Marsh Vegetation Composition and Cover
Kenneth B. Raposa1,*, Thomas E. Kutcher2, Wenley Ferguson3, Richard A. McKinney4, Ken Miller5,and Cathleen Wigand4
1Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, PO Box 151, Prudence Island RI 02872. 2Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 14 East Farm Road, Kingston RI 02881. 3Save The Bay, 100 Save The Bay Drive, Providence RI 02905. 4NHEERL-EPA-ORD, Atlantic Ecology Division, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett RI 02882. 5Ministère des Transports du Québec, Direction de la Capitale-Nationale, Service des inventaires et des plans, Gouvernement du Québec, Montreal, QC H2Z 1W7, Canada. *Corresponding author.
Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 27, Issue 1 (2020): 151–167
Abstract
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.
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