My field data records ground cover and was collected over 4 transects with 5 quadrat replicates. My initial data (transect 1) was collected a few weeks ago and, given the variable and unpredictable weather, I decided to collect the remaining data this past weekend.
Given the overall size of the study area that I have chosen (see image in blog post 1), I have scaled down my transect (2m x 0.5m) and quadrat size (12.7cm x 12.7cm) to approximately one-fifth of a typical ecological study.
Two transects were chosen along the edges of the patio and then two in the centre lawn areas. I started with the two along the patio and semi-randomly selected the start and end points to capture most of the edge. As I am comparing transects that experience different levels/intensity of mowing treatment (mowed + weed trimmed vs. mowed only), I chose the width to best represent the area that experiences being weed trimmed. To maintain consistency in the sampling area this same size of ‘plot’ was applied to the other two transects.
With the data collected and ongoing observations, one notable pattern is that the transects with more bare ground seem to have greater plant species variation when considering individual quadrats. The visual observation of this and changes in plant growth with the changing seasons led me to revise my hypothesis.
I think your sample unit size is ok, but you might want to note limitations with this approach in your discussion.