| Home
Vegetation |
| Home
Vegetation |
Why would ‘vegetation’ need to be investigated in these real-life situations:
There is never enough time to identify or count every single plant out in the field, so it’s useful to focus on smaller, randomly selected samples of bushland.
Tools for investigating these samples include a vegetation identification chart, estimating canopy cover, a transect and a quadrat.
Identifying plant species is not an easy task, not even for the experts, so vegetation identification charts can be very handy. They are usually available from libraries, national parks, forestry and conservation organisations.
View this example of a vegetation identification chart (.pdf 574kB)
Contact the Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre for more charts.
The taller trees in a bushland area often branch out at the top to form a covering over the rest of the plants below. This is known as a canopy. The amount of canopy cover is often a good indication of the health of a bushland area. Monitoring canopy cover is important in forestry management and research.
View this example of a canopy cover chart (.pdf 836kB)
How to estimate the percentage of canopy cover
A quadrat is a frame, usually one metre by one metre, used to investigate the density of vegetation, particularly smaller plants such as grasses, small shrubs and ground cover.
How to use a quadrat
A transect is a path along which geographical features are recorded, such as different types of trees and shrubs. It can be a useful way of showing changes in vegetation.
How to use a transect
Go to the Riverina Environmental Education Centre for more information about vegetation.
What are the fastest and slowest growing plants in the world?