For each planter box, four replicates of five sample plots over the course of twenty days; which was relatively easy to manage the separate quadrants being fixed planters with well-built borders. The difficulties I faced with this sampling design was the unseasonal weather in the lower mainland this fall; beginning with an extended dry period in late October and some high wind and heavy rain storms over the course of November led to challenges for the seedlings to sprout and grow. The wind also spread debris throughout the planters, which caused added coverage and some damage to individual plants, making it harder to locate organisms and leading to some premature deaths.
At first, the focus of my paper was directed towards nutrient availability and species abundance, but the weather lead to observations in the impact abiotic factors have on protecting budding plants from erratic weather and micro disturbances. I definitely had hoped for more seasonal weather trends and a longer timeframe to collect data; the interesting patterns of growth made for plenty of data to analyze.
Having to change my study location, and having moved over the course of this semester led to time related challenges, I intend to rely more heavily on the studies and experiments done by others in order to build on my own data.