Observer error in sampling a rare plant population
Autor: | Lloyd W. Morrison, Craig C. Young |
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Rok vydání: | 2016 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
education.field_of_study Ecology Observer (quantum physics) biology Population Sampling (statistics) Plant Science biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Plant population Physaria filiformis Population estimation Abundance (ecology) Statistics Plant species education Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 010606 plant biology & botany Mathematics |
Zdroj: | Plant Ecology & Diversity. 9:289-297 |
ISSN: | 1755-1668 1755-0874 |
Popis: | Background: Estimation of abundance in vegetation sampling involving observers is almost always characterised by observer error, although such error is rarely reported.Aims: To quantify observer error in population estimation of the rare plant species Physaria filiformis in Missouri, USA.Methods: The abundance of P. filiformis was estimated within 25-m2 plots by six trained observers with varying experience levels over 10 years. Observers assigned plots to six predefined density classes. A total of 477 plots were estimated annually, and actual counts were conducted on ca. 10% of the plots to assess per cent agreement of estimates with counts.Results: Over a third of the estimates of plant abundance evaluated for accuracy (36.4%) deviated from exhaustive counts. The majority of the misestimates were underestimates by one density class (29.4%). The number and type of misestimates varied systematically with density class.Conclusions: Observer error could be explained to some degree by variation in population... |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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