METHODS OF STUDYING VEGETATION 



211 



Cr> 



it is desirable to save the time, 

 the plants are noted on either 

 side alone. The species are 

 indicated by initials as in 

 quadrat mapping. In plotting, 

 the topography is carefully 

 drawn to scale, and the rows 

 of initials transferred from the 

 field record to the outline, 

 centimeter by centimeter. A 

 10-meter transect can thus be 

 recorded on a meter sheet upon 

 the scale of 10:1. Transects 

 longer than this are drawn to 

 a scale of 100 : 1 or 1000 : 1 , and 

 the details must be correspond- 

 ingly reduced. When both 

 detail and length are desired, 

 they may be secured by divid- 

 ing the line into 10-meter 

 parts and assigning one part 

 to each student. 



227. The belt transect. 

 This is a belt instead of a line, 

 and its width consequently 

 permits a more detailed and 

 accurate record of the arrange- 

 ment of the plants. The 

 width of a belt transect is 

 determined by its length and 

 by the character of the vege- 

 tation. The usual width is one 

 decimeter in herbaceous for- 

 mations and one meter in 

 woodland formations, when 

 only the trees and shrubs are 

 taken into account. 



In staking a l)elt transect 

 two tapes are employed to 

 mark out a strip just one 



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"^1 



^ 



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Fig. 76. A line transpct through .1 liog 

 formation which has invaded a forest 

 along a brook. The ecotones Ix'twecn 

 the two formations arc shown at c. 



