Laserfiche WebLink
r <br />established for cover and production determinations were <br />_•~. <br />also used in density measurements. <br />1 This method required the observer to lay out axes on <br />north-south and east-west lines. The observer then measured <br />- the distance to the nearest individual (shrubs in shrub <br />communities and trees aad shrubs in predominant tree <br />^ overstory communities) in each of the resulting four <br />quadrants. These distances were used when calculating density <br />in the equation shown in Appendix A. Sample adequacy was <br />~- calculated for shrubs and trees in each vegetation type. <br />I~. I-2.6 Species Diversity <br />,_ Total number of species (richness) is an important <br />_• characteristic oY a community type. Diversity usually <br />~- incorporates, in addition to richness, the distribution <br />of individuals among the different species. Maximum diversity <br />~ results if individuals are distributed equally among different <br />species; conversely, if one or s few species are concentrated <br />_ within a homogeneous community, diversity is decreased which <br />is minimal (0) if all individuals are of one species. <br />The Shannon-'rleiner formula for determining species <br />diversity was used in this study. This formula is based <br />on the assumption that diversity can be determined from the <br />relative abundance (cover) of each species by sampling a <br />limited population and is presented in Appendix A. <br />-9- <br />