Belt transect

Belt transects are used in biology to investigate the distribution of organisms in relation to a certain area, such as the seashore. [cite book |first=David Arnold |last=Hill |coauthors=Matthew Fasham, Graham Tucker, Michael Shewry and Philip Shaw |title=Handbook of biodiversity methods: survey, evaluation and monitoring |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=2005 |pages= [http://books.google.com/books?id=9Jspmhkyex4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA219,M1 219–222] |isbn=0-521-82368-4 |oclc=61439712] It records all the species found between two lines and how far they are for a certain place or area and how many of them there are. An interrupted belt transect records all the species found in quadrats (square frames) placed at certain intervals along a line.

References

Belt Transect Method This is similar to the line transect method but gives information on abundance as well as presence, or absence of species. It may be considered as a widening of the line transect to form a continuous belt, or series of quadrats.

In this method, the transect line is laid out across the area to be surveyed and a quadrat is placed on the first marked point on the line. The plants and/or animals inside the quadrat are then identified and their abundance estimated. Animals can be counted within the quadrat, or collected, while it is usual to estimate the percentage cover of plant species. Cover is the area of the quadrat occupied by the above-ground parts of a species when viewed from above. The canopies of the plants inside the quadrat will often overlap each other, so the total percentage cover of plants in a single quadrat will frequently add up to more than 100%.

Quadrats are sampled all the way down the transect line, at each marked point on the line, or at some other predetermined interval (or even randomly) if time is short. It is important that the same person should do the estimations of cover in each quadrat, because the estimation is likely to vary from person to person. If different people estimate percentage cover in different quadrats, then an element of personal variation is introduced which will lead to less accurate results. Sampling should always be as least destructive as possible and you should try not to trample an area too much when carrying out your survey.