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Tuatara: Volume 21, Issue 3, April 1975

Recording Canopy Composition in Grassland and Other Short Herbaceous Communities

Recording Canopy Composition in Grassland and Other Short Herbaceous Communities

In low-growing vegetation such as grassland or herbaceous swards, it is often difficult to distinguish individuals of each species, particularly when the vegetation is being grazed. To attempt charting the position of each individual within a transect may take more time than can be justified by the information gained. It is thus essential to decide what particular vegetation change or changes are to be recorded, even though some changes cannot always be anticipated. For example, the interest in a grassland might be the rate at which it is being invaded by woody plants. The position, heights, and possibly crown outlines, of all woody plants would be plotted whereas the grassland might be characterised by a single point analysis of crown-cover made along the centre-line of the transect. In another case one might chart the distribution of a single species within the page 85
Fig. 1: Chart of vegetation canopy in permanent transect established by A. E. Esler on Tiritiri Island, Hauraki Gulf. Dimensions in feet. Key to symbols used:— Bl. cap.: Blechnum capense Cass: Cassinia retorta Cy deal: Cyathea dealbata Dac. glom.: Dactylis glomerata Ger. molle: Geranium molle Hol. lan.: Holcus lanatus Lept. scop. and L.s.: Leptospermum scoparium Met. ex.: Metrosideros excelsa Pitt crass: Pittosporum crassifolium Plant. lanc.: Plantago lanceolata Pt. ag. and Pt.: Pteridium aquilinum Sc. nod.: Scirpus nodosus

Fig. 1: Chart of vegetation canopy in permanent transect established by A. E. Esler on Tiritiri Island, Hauraki Gulf. Dimensions in feet. Key to symbols used:—
Bl. cap.: Blechnum capense
Cass: Cassinia retorta
Cy deal: Cyathea dealbata
Dac. glom.: Dactylis glomerata
Ger. molle: Geranium molle
Hol. lan.: Holcus lanatus
Lept. scop. and L.s.: Leptospermum scoparium
Met. ex.: Metrosideros excelsa
Pitt crass: Pittosporum crassifolium
Plant. lanc.: Plantago lanceolata
Pt. ag. and Pt.: Pteridium aquilinum
Sc. nod.: Scirpus nodosus

page 86 grassland sward and only record the remaining plants as grassland.

In some types of short vegetation it is possible to plot boundaries or sharp transitions in composition readily and to characterise the vegetation in each part of the mosaic with a simple descriptive name (Fig. 1).