Stream Bank Vegetation Survey

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Stream Bank Vegetation Survey
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Stream bank vegetation influences

• the amount of sunlight entering a stream, which
  controls photosynthesis and stream temperature.
• affect stream flow and bank erosion.
• influence shading and temperature,
• important sources of organic material for aquatic
  organisms.
• act as important buffers between upslope land use
  and the stream.

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Purpose of Vegetation Survey

• Access the woody plant diversity of the stream
  bank
• Density how many trees
• Which species are present
• Diversity Index
• Basal Area of area covered by trunk of tree
• Assess canopy closure over the stream

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Getting to know the plants

• Urban areas often have stands of trees, shrubs,
  and herbaceous plants
• A transect is a designated area in which plant
  diversity is assessed. This makes the task of
  identifying all the plants more manageable
• A permanent transect is placed at each school
  that has a stream.
• Long term monitoring site.

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Transect Designin relation to stream reach
Direction of sampling 180 ft.
30 ft
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Dimensions of Transect
15 feet
30 feet
30 feet
15 feet
Direction of sampling
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Quadrants
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Measuring Canopy trees

• Identify the species
• Tree Identification guide
• Any field guide to trees
• Collect leaves, fruit, pieces of bark (if you
  have trouble identifying)
• Measure all trees in the transect that are larger
  than 3 inches in diameter.

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Measuring Dbh

• Measure dbh using a special measuring tape
  provided
• dbh measured in inches

DBH
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Estimating Canopy Closure Over Stream

•  At the waters edge, hold the densitometer
  perpendicular to the bank 1 ft. from the
  shoreline.
• Hold the densitometer as shown at right. A
  reading is obtained by leveling both of the
  densitometers bubble levels (centered between
  the two lines) and then sighting through the
  instrument so that the sighting marks (dot in the
  center circle) are aligned.

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Measuring Canopy Closure

• Densitometer readings are taken at 5 places at
  each transect point.

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Data sheet
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Data Analysisdata from previous slide
Density 12
150
150
120
120
90
90
60
60
30
30
0
0
Right
Left
Area of left transect 180 X 30 5400 ft2
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Species Diversity
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Data Analysisdata from previous slide
A total 6 x 4 24 sections or points
Left
Right