Assessment of the line transect method: an examination of the spatial patterns of down and standing dead wood

Abstract

The line transect method, its underlying assumptions, and the spatial patterning of down and standing pieces of dead wood were examined at the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest in central Montana. The accuracy of the line transect method was not determined due to conflicting results of t-tests and ordinary least squares regression. In most instances down pieces were randomly distributed along transect segments. Down pieces generally had a clumped distribution of their directional orientation. Standing pieces were usually found to be randomly distributed within belt transects. Consistent clumping scale of down or standing pieces was not found when studied using the paired quadrat variance method.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the symposium on the ecology and management of dead wood in western forests

Citation

Lutes, Duncan C. 2002. Assessment of the line transect method: an examination of the spatial patterns of down and standing dead wood. In: Laudenslayer, William F., Jr.; Shea, Patrick J.; Valentine, Bradley E.; Weatherspoon, C. Phillip; Lisle, Thomas E., tech. coords. Proceedings of the symposium on the ecology and management of dead wood in western forests; 1999 November 2-4; Reno, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-181. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station. p. 665-675.