I collected the final data on the same day when I collected the initial data. The reason for that is because I only had about 2 or 3 weeks ( that too if I was lucky) before the first snowfall. The methods and techniques were the same for both the initial and final data.
One of the few problems I encountered during sampling was identification of species. It was easy to identify the Canada Thistles in a given sample area because of the distinctive features but it was very difficult to identify the other species. One of the reasons was because the vegetation was so thick and dense, it was difficult to both count and identify the species in a given sample area. The data presented, was counted and collected to the best of my ability. Another problem as mentioned in the earlier blog post, was to figure out the starting point for sampling. As the selected area was not the most ideal to employ the coordinates, it was difficult to figure out the starting point. To ensure randomness, the very centre of the plot was chosen as the starting point for sampling.
One of the ancillary patterns that I observed was the presence of native species in areas heavily dominated and mildly dominated with invasive species. The diversity and density of other species is significantly higher in places where the density of invasive species is lower and the situation is vice versa in places where the density of invasive species is maximum.