​If you are planning on collecting Vegetation-plot data, then you might be interested in a research tool I developed, called a Point Intercept Frame, that provides percentage cover values of plant species. This tool is considered to be less biased compared to the ocular method. This Point Intercept Frame is made of PVC pipe making it lightweight and portable. The plot size is 1meter x 1meter, the standing frame is 84 cm in height, and it accommodates ten, 91 cm pins.  It is unique in that it uses magnets to hold the pins in the up position while moving the standing frame and uses push pins for effortless assembly and disassembly making it easy to transport in the field.
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If you are interested, please email me through the contact page. 

Point Intercept Frame

​ Using the Point Intercept Frame:

After assembling the Point Intercept Frame you will need to decide how many pins you want to utilize (there are 10 pins available) and how many times you want to move the top frame along the quadrat frame. If you want a total of 50 data points (the number of pins that make contact with the vegetation) then you will want to move the frame 5 times (10 pins x 5 movements). The next step is to mark the quadrat frame using a sharpie at five evenly spaced points.  The final step is to place the quadrat frame over the plot you want to measure vegetation percent cover values and let the pins drop to the ground by pulling or pushing the metal bar with magnets. You will then record the number of plant species that touch each pin. There can be more than one species that you record. For example you might record a tall grass and a short forb species. You can also record bare soil, moss, or other things of interest.