Virtual Vegetation Survey Activity

Every fall, we spend many days in the marsh surveying the different plant species that are present in our reserve. We have permanent plots- marked locations that are a specific size- that we revisit each year in order to document changes over time. We look for all the species that are present in each plot, and also estimate what percent of the plot they cover. It can be tricky- there sometimes are many different species and they overlap in where they grow!

These three species, fleshy jaumea, saltgrass, and pickleweed, are commonly found at both of our reserve sites. They are each specially adapted to live in the salty marsh environment.

Activity

• Can you find these species in our plots?

• What is your estimate of their percent cover in each plot?