Field Techniques for Surveying Vegetation

Field techniques for surveying Vegetation is a short, stand-alone training course which is taught entirely online. It can be taken from anywhere in the world and is international in its use of case studies. It will appeal to a variety of students and practitioners in conservation and management who want to improve their ability to conduct surveys.

Each topic is covered via guided reading, online activities, and discussion forums. All the reading material is embedded into the course, but students additionally have access to the University's electronic resources and online journals, which they are expected to use for some of the activities. Participants are expected to study on, and contribute to, the course for around 10-15 hours per week. If the course is being taken for credit, participants will need to complete an assessment. There is a suggested calendar of activity which students can use to assist them in completing the course within the allocated five week duration.

Topics covered by the course:

• rationale for surveying vegetation;
• choosing a vegetation survey technique;
• structural methods of vegetation description;
• floristic methods of vegetation sampling;
• overview of quadrats and plotless sampling;
• quantitative measures;
• vegetation monitoring, permanent quadrats and vegetation mapping;
• sampling strategy or protocol;
• recording and storing data.