Course Description
Students will complete assignments to illustrate the principles and techniques presented in Field Orientation, Measurements, and Sampling in Forestry and Natural Resources.
Athena Title
Field Measurements Lab
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in FORS 4050L, FORS 6050L
Prerequisite
Enrollment in Professional Program of Warnell
Corequisite
FANR 3000
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall and spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
By the end of the semester, students will have the following skills: A. Proficiency with navigation and map reading skills such that they can traverse across multiple landscapes. 1. Read and use a range of map types. 2. Understand topography and its measurement. 3. Conduct basic land surveys. 4. Understand scale and spatial relationships. 5. Use a hand compass and pacing skills to navigate cross- country independent of electronic aids; record distances and headings. 6. Use recreation-grade GPS receivers to navigate cross-country, and use mapping-grade GPS receivers to record position data. 7. Know the components of legal property descriptions and be able to look up and use deeds. 8. Create a proper and useful map of land and water resources and features by hand. B. Identify and use appropriate techniques for collecting, analyzing, testing, and interpreting natural resource data. 1. Use appropriate field methods and equipment for sampling terrestrial and aquatic habitats. a. Understand basic methods for measuring vegetation. b. Understand how to conduct a random sample and a systematic sample. c. Understand how to measure resources in plots, strips, and plotless samples. d. Be familiar with the proper application of and the techniques associated with plot, point, line (distance), and strip sampling to measure a variety of terrestrial and aquatic features (stem density, height, average size, biomass per acre, value per acre, fish or animal density, aquatic habitat measurements, etc.) [Faculty from all majors are expected to provide examples.] e. Be aware of potential sources of measurement error and bias and know proper measurement techniques to minimize error. f. Understand the proper methods for summarizing field data from these measurement techniques, expanding estimates to a per-acre or per-hectare basis, and reporting it appropriately to users. g. Know the proper use and care of equipment used to take common measurements in the field of a variety of natural resources. h. Be able to design a simple multi-resource inventory for a forested property for a target level of estimation for a given stand measure. 2. Use computers and software with proficiency. a. Know how to use Word to create memoranda and reports with proper formatting and referencing of figures, tables, and literature. b. Know how to use Excel to summarize data using statistical and graphing features, including appropriate formatting, effective use of relative and absolute addressing, and clear documentation of spreadsheet contents. c. Learn how to obtain GPS base station data, use it to differentially correct GPS field data, and produce a map for export to GIS. d. Know how to use Powerpoint to create a presentation for their final project. 3. Be able to analyze natural resource data and apply appropriate statistical techniques. [Faculty from all majors are expected to provide examples.] a. Understand how to sample populations (nesting, stratification, randomization). b. Understand how to use descriptive statistics (mean, sdev, cv, stderror, bounds, etc.). c. Understand variability and reliability – confidence in the numbers, confidence limits, measurement error, sample size requirements. d. Understand how field data is used as inputs to management models such as habitat suitability indices or growth & yield models. C. Communications Students will have written lab reports during most weeks of the semester (15-20). These will be in the form of a one-page memorandum written to a client or job supervisor and will report findings from field measurements in clear language with appropriate numerical reporting.
Topical Outline
Introduction to the need for measurements of natural resources for decision-making. Basic land and aquatic habitat measurement and description: Compass and GPS, surveying and navigation, the use of maps, and legal descriptions. Measures of stand and animal density and site (habitat) quality. Sampling techniques using fixed-area methods. Sampling techniques using plotless area or prisms. Planning activities to conduct a multi-resource inventory on a property. Tentative Lab Outline: These will attempt to use examples, applications, and datasets from all WSFR disciplines as provided by the faculty. • Measurement of distance and slopes, introduction to compass and pacing. • Introduction to topographic maps and coordinate systems. • Measurement of the direction and distance of each side of a closed traverse, practice pacing. • Calculation of area of a measured traverse using each of three techniques and draw a map. • Cross-country navigation with compass or GPS receiver. • Pacing practical quiz, collect position data with a mapping-grade GPS receiver. • Planning a GPS data collection mission and collecting GPS data. • Downloading and differentially correcting GPS data, export to GIS format. • Introduction to Excel – data types, functions, cell addressing, formats, graphs. • Vegetation measurements and equipment – size, height, age, density per unit area, canopy closure. • The following techniques are used in the field followed by summary of the data with Excel. We start using a technique on a single resource and move into using multiple techniques on multiple resources during a single inventory. o Fixed-area plots and quadrats for density & frequency of occurrence. o Sampling by vegetation size class. o Plotless sampling with prisms. o Understory/regeneration sampling, % ground cover, % canopy cover. o Line transect and strip sampling for terrestrial woody debris/fuel loads. o Aquatic sampling in and around pond environments. • Prepare a multi-resource inventory for a portion of Whitehall Forest.
Syllabus