Forest and Wood Products

Forest and Wood Products

Investigation Comparison of Transect Sampling Methods in Estimation of Quantitative Characteristics of Forest (Case study: Daalaab forests of Ilam)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Mehrdad Mirzaei 1
Amir Eslam Bonyad 2
Hassan Pourbabaei 3
1 M.Sc. Student., Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Somehesara, I.R. Iran
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, , Somehesara, I.R. Iran
3 Associate Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Somehesara, I.R. Iran
10.22059/jfwp.2014.50437
Abstract
Basic forest management and planning require appropriate quantitative and qualitative information. This information obtained from forest inventory. So forest inventory have an essential role in estimating present situation and future planning. In this study, 37.2 hectares of Daalaab forest of Ilam province were calculated with 1 hectare samples. To analyze quantitative characteristics, “transect with fixed length (50 m)” and “transect with fixed number of tree (5 trees)” were selected for comparison. Measured characteristics were density (number tree per hectare), crown cover and basal area. Based on systematic-random sampling pattern with 100 × 100m dimension, 37 samples were selected for each sampling method. In each sample, characteristics of trees were recorded and measured. Results this investigation showed that based on precision and cost criteria, transect with fixed number tree sampling method is a more suitable method for analysis of quantitative characteristics in the studied forests.
Keywords
Ilam
Inventory
Quercus persica
transect method
Zagros forests