My initial data measured the abundance of Garry Oak trees using an area- sample method. I divided the hill into 4 transects by elevation, each of which were 10m. Within each transect, 5 quadrats of 5m x 5m were chosen by convenience sampling. This sampling method seemed appropriate to this location as Christmas Hill is comprised of a fragile Garry Oak ecosystem and venturing off the path is discouraged. Subsequently, quadrats were selected on either side of the walking path in each transect. Although these quadrats were chosen out of convenience, they appeared uniform across the landscape, and I believe they represent the entire transect. The data collected from transect A, B and C were as expected, however, transect D had a slightly higher abundance average than expected. Garry Oak trees in transect A, B, and C appeared to mostly grow in clumps with some quadrats containing no Garry Oak trees. In comparison, Garry Oak trees in transect D appeared to grow more individually. Another attribute of Garry Oak trees that was examined was their height. The Garry Oak trees in each quadrat were divided into 2 categories: 1) those measuring over 2.5m in height, and 2) those measuring less than or equal to 2.5m in height. The data collected was congruent with what was observed, with height decreasing as elevation increased.
Random sampling would have been preferred for data collection, however, Christmas Hill is a protected area and I wanted to cause as little disruption as possible to the ecosystem. That being said, using convenience sampling for data collection appeared to produce reasonable results that coincided with observations made at the site, and thus will be used for further collection.