During the virtual forest instruction at the Mohn Mill site, I employed area-based sampling techniques to gather data. The systematic procedure proved to be the fastest, requiring only 12 hours, while the other techniques took approximately 13 hours.
The percentage errors for each sampling technique are as follows:
Systematic Percent Errors:
- Red Maple (Common): 0.018%
- Eastern Hemlock (Common): 0.61%
- American Basswood (Rare): 6.23%
- Yellow Birch (Rare): 8.00%
Random Percent Errors:
- Red Maple (Common): 0.074%
- Eastern Hemlock (Common): 0.76%
- American Basswood (Rare): 7.0%
- Yellow Birch (Rare): 7.0%
Haphazard Percent Errors:
- Red Maple (Common): 0.065%
- Eastern Hemlock (Common): 4.02%
- American Basswood (Rare): 7.0%
- Yellow Birch (Rare): 7.0%
The accuracy of these procedures will be determined by the experimenter(s). For widely distributed species, all methods produced comparable errors. The most accurate method for both common and rare species is the one with the lowest average percentage error. In this case, the random procedure yielded the lowest average percentage error of 0.018% for common species.
However, for rare species, the systematic sampling methodology proved to be the most accurate. When random procedures were used instead of systematic ones, the accuracy for rare species decreased. It is worth noting that the percentage error for Yellow Birch remained constant across all techniques.
It appears that the sample size of 24 was insufficient for various aspects of the study. While it sufficed for determining the number of species in the community, it did not provide enough data to accurately assess the abundance of each species, especially considering that some species had estimated densities of 0. The study also included Sweet Birch, Witch Hazel, Hawthorn, and White Oak, which were not mentioned in the error calculations.
In conclusion, further analysis and potentially an increased sample size are necessary to improve the accuracy and reliability of the findings, especially regarding the abundance of each species in the study area.