I divided my wetland into 10 Wedges. The wetland was also divided into 3 zones. Zone 1 is always submerged in water, Zone 2 (riparian) is ephemerally submerged, and Zone 3 is the dry uplands immediately surrounding the wetland. Thus, each Wedge encompassed all three zones.
There were minimal issues with counting native and invasive species, and then estimating the % cover (native vs invasive) for each Zone of each Wedge. The main challenge was identifying the exact willow species growing since most of the leaves had fallen off, but I could tell from the leaves on the ground which willow species were present. I counted all the willows as one species, which would only mean that the species richness I am documenting is actually richer in Zone 2 of this site than my experiment demonstrates, which only further strengthens my hypothesis.
While my hypothesis generally held true that the most native biodiversity was found in Zone 2, there were variations between the wedges for Zones 2 and 3. Reed Canary Grass was only present in some of them, for example. So, I had to consider other non-key factors to explain this, such as aspect, shade etc.
Hi there! I’m here to offer some constructive criticism (and compliments) on your study design. I think deciding the wetland into wedges so that it in incorporates all three zones is such a brilliant idea. I used to do wetland research myself, so I hope I can help you out. For estimating % cover, I found using a drone (if allowed) is the best way to do it. If not, try to see if google earth has any good overhead snapshots of your wetland.
The one thing I’m a little confused about is since those areas are so different, perpetually wet vs. dry, I’m not sure comparing species richness in trees is the best way to answer questions. For the areas that are fully underwater, I would try to sample those submerged vegetations. You may very well have done this, and it could be my bad for misunderstanding. To put things really simply, you won’t find a willow growing in the middle of a wetland UNLESS it has recently rained or is under flooding.
Regardless, love the wetland project! I wish you all the best and hope this was helpful.