My difficulties in implementing my sampling revolved around my work schedule. I was sent to a different town for work so I had to decide whether to choose a new field site in the new town… or wait until I returned to conduct my sampling. I decided to wait until I returned, which gave me time to think about my sampling strategy.
Initially I was going to sample a number of random hills and slopes around town to evaluate whether north or south facing slopes had more dense vegetation. I decided this would be hard to control for soil type, moisture, etc so, looking at aerial imagery, I selected some landfills that had been covered in topsoil about 10 years ago. I think this will best control for different types of soil and other conditions. This will also allow me to study how easily a disturbed area is re-vegetated in an arctic environment.
My sampling site:
