Advanced Biological Field Techniques Professor David Serrano

Ken Bixgorin Vegetation census along a transect

A subgroup of members of our class -- Thomas Ingold, Lucy DiSorbo, and

I comprised our team -- surveyed vegetation outside of a pond (located north of
the racquetball courts and Criminal Justice Institute) on 19 May 2016 at Broward
College, Central Campus in Davie, Florida. A 50-foot transect ran from 26 o04.994'
N, 80o13.941 W at the bank of the pond to 26o04.986' N, 80o13.941' W at the 50-
foot mark, i.e., approximately due south from 0-foot mark at the bank.
A census of vegetation surveyed plant types present in half-meter sided
quadrats, centered on the transect at 10-foot intervals -- 0 feet (at the bank of the
pond) to 50 feet away, approximately at a right angle to the bank of the pond. The
quadrat centered at the 0-foot point was half in water and half on land. Our
objective sought information pertaining to the variation in distribution of plants in
a gradient relative to the water resource.
The following observations were made:
The elevation rose (13') away from the pond from 0 to 50 feet. Soil
became drier until a mostly rocky, cobbled environment dominated at 50 feet.
Australian pine trees were located at a fairly uniform distance almost a
broken circle about the pond at perhaps 10' to 20' from water. In almost all
quadrats, crabgrass and dead pine needles were found. At 0' and 10', "reeds"
were found. At 20', an Australian pine seedling of a few inches grew. Moss was
found at 20' and 30' marks. A herbaceous plant with brown case and white
growing tip grew at almost all locations.
Additional plants were noted: sawgrass, a spear top grass, and torpedo
grass at 0', serrated purple-green at 0' and 10', spade leaf at 0' and 30', yellow-tip
flower at 10' and 40', serrated purple grass at 10', purple ground weed at 20',
non-flowering star rush sedge and pointy-tip serrated purple with thorn-tip at 20',
grass, hairy with helical twist and pointy-grass at 30', X-shaped grass with red
middle, white purple flower, and telescoping grass at 40', and matchstick
bromeliad at 50'.
Only a few conclusions were made:
The distance of the Australian pine from the water was fairly specific and
even the seedling or branchlet was found in a quadrat at a similar distance to the
circle of trees. Although observations were attempted, most flowering types were
noted only sporadically in quadrats. Lack of acquaintance made observation
rough at best. Percentage cover and counts were not made. Combining data
from similar transects made by other groups in the class may lead to other
conclusions. Only roughly, plant types changed from reed to pine and moss and
different plants in the rocky "upland."

Appended photographs include a scan of the field notebook, the six quadrats,
and some of the vegetation observed.
The quadrats are shown from 0’ to 50’:
The vegetation observed included: