Baseline 

 Length 



(ft) 



<1,0G0 



^1,000-5,000 



^5,000- 10,000 



>10.000* 



Number 



of 

 Segments 



3 

 5 



7 

 variable 



Baseline 



Segment 



(ft) 



18-333 

 200-1,000 

 700-1,400 

 2,000 



*If the baseline exceeds five miles, baseline seg- 

 ments should be 0.5 mile in length. 



BASELINE 

 SEGMENT 



TRANSECT 



STARTING 



POINT 



BASELINE 

 STARTING 

 POINT 



STREAM 



Figure 5. General orientation of baseline and 

 transects in a hypothetical project area. The letters 

 "A", "B", "C", and "D" represent different plant 

 communities. Transect positions were determined 

 using a random numbers table. 



Use a random numbers table or a calculator with a 

 random numbers generation feature to determine 

 the position of a transect starting point within each 

 baseline segment. For example, when the baseline 

 is 4,000 feet, the number of baseline segments will 

 be five, and each baseline segment length will be 

 800 feet (4,000/5). Locate the first transect within 

 the first 800 feet of the baseline. If the random 

 numbers table yields 264 as the distance from the 

 baseline starting point, measure 264 feet from the 

 baseline starting point and establish the staning 

 point of the first transect. If the second random 

 number selected is 530, the starting point of the 



second transect will be located at a distance of 

 1,330 feet (800 + 530) from the baseline starting 

 point. Record the location of each transect in a field 

 notebook. When a fixed point such as a stone wall 

 is used as a starting point, be sure to record its 

 position also. Make sure that each plant community 

 type is included in at least one transect; if not, 

 modify the sampling design accordingly. When the 

 starting points for all required transects have been 

 located, go to the beginning of the fu^t transect and 

 proceed to Step 5. » 



Step 5. Identify sample plots along the tran- 

 sect. Along each transect, sample plots may be 

 established in two ways: (1) within each plant 

 community encountered {the plant community tran- 

 sect sampling approach); or (2) at ftxed intervals 

 {the fixed interval transect sampling approach); 

 these plots will be used to assess vegetation, soils, 

 and hydrology. 



When employing the plant community transect 

 sampling approach, two techniques for identifying 

 sample plots may be followed: (1) walk the entire 

 length of the transect, taking note of the number, 

 type, and location of plant communities present 

 (flag the locations, if necessary) and on the way 

 back to the baseline, record the length of the tran- 

 sect, identify sample plots and perform sampling; 

 or (2) identify plant communities as the transect is 

 walked, sample the plot at that time ("sample as 

 you go"), and record the length of the transect 



When conducting the fixed interval transect sam- 

 pling approach, establish sample plots along each 

 transect using the following as a guide: 



The first sample plot should be established at a dis- 

 tance of 50 feet from die baseline. When obvious 

 nonwetiands occupy a long segment of the transect 



41 



