Ecological Studies of the Vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains. II. The Quadrat Method Applied to Sampling Spruce and Fir Forest Types

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of reducing the sampling of a forest community to the minimum consistent with the adequate representation of the arborescent stratum, that is, to approach reality as to the composition and structure of the tree stratum. The immediate goal is not that of crusing the association-individual, or stand, for its merchantable content in board feet or cordage, but the method, if valid, should yield such data with approximately the same limits of error as, for example, basal area, which is used here as the basis for comparison. The system, which is not at all new, is simply that of employing small sample areas (quadrats) on a basis of random sampling within the stand. The study differs from the usual in that an inspection of the influence of size and number of quadrats is made with the purpose of ascertaining the minimum quadrat area and the minimum number of such quadrats which will produce results within certain limits of error.