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Selection of sites and station positions
Figure 1. Example demonstrating placement
of sites. Yellow line is area of interest. Red
symbols are location of sites with 2-mile
spacing.
Each survey consists of placing 25 sites
within a predetermined study area. Place
sites 2.0 mi apart in a grid fashion with the
beginning of grid randomly located. Each
site consists of one transect with 5 stations
spaced 100 m apart and directed downhill.
In areas lacking any measurable slope,
transect direction can be random. Ideally,
transect length is 400 m, however when
transects encounter human development, natural openings, meadows, new clear-cuts,
ponds or small lakes, breaks in transect may occur and increase the overall transect
length. If these breaks cause over-all transect
length to exceed 1 km, part of the transect can be
run uphill from the starting location (with the
same rules concerning meadows, water etc.). If
the overall transect length is still longer than 1
km, relocate the starting point to a location not
further than ½ km of the original start, then
repeat the protocol. If the relocated transect still
encounters too much human development, open
water, meadows, etc., then remove the site from
the grid and locate the transect at the next closest grid location. It is best to accomplish
this task using aerial photo and topographic maps prior to going into the field.
Figure 2. Transects are located downhill from the position of the site. Stations are 100 m
apart.
Locate the 1
st
station at the point indicated by the 2x2 mile grid and locate the remaining
stations (n=4) 100 m apart in a straight line and directed downhill from the 1
st
station.
