Since blog post 5, I have completely changed my sampling approach, and have gone back to my original idea of looking at the vegetative structures/plant community structure between the north- and south-facing slope aspects.
My new sampling method is working out much better. While some areas on the north-facing aspect are thick with shrubs and challenging to walk through, I have managed to get eyes on it (with extra eye and hair protection and long sleeves lol). I have now gone out twice to collect data with my new approach (May 6 and 14, 2022; since I’ve completely changed directions, the data from my first time sampling in April has become irrelevant) and have collected 10 replications (5 per slope), I am planning 1-2 more field events to bring my total replicates up to 20 transects (10 per slope). Starting on my second field day, I increased the distance between my transects from 10 paces to 15. I may increase that a bit more to 20 paces, but I think even 15 paces is a better distance to give me a better overall look at plant community structures without the samples being too close together.
So far the patterns I am observing are consistent with my hypothesis. I am contemplating, though, a method to take some soil temperature readings. Through some research, and some obvious observations like the snow taking longer to melt on the north-facing aspects, it is evident that an underlying process that could be affecting the patterns I’m seeing is soil temperature and moisture. While I don’t have the means to easily ‘sample’ the soil moisture, I’m thinking that maybe I could use a kitchen temperature probe/meat thermometer to collect some soil temperature readings. Has anyone ever tried this? I think it would help to strengthen my observations if it actually works! If I can’t find a meat thermometer that goes low enough, I will just have to depend on my research.
Hi there,
Good luck on your sampling! My workplace uses meat thermometers to track the temperature of our sample fridges (usually around 2°C). They are the ‘analog’ type and work well. If you can get your hands on one of these I think your soil temperature sampling could be successful!