Chapter 6 Methods

As part of the ForestGEO network, at SCBI we follow the original stablished standardized protocols (Condit 1998) for tree measurements with few modifications. We have conducted three censuses, the initial census in 2008 (data and ancillary data published in Bourg et al. (2013)), and two recensuses in 2013 and 2018. Roughly, 3200 work hours, including field collection, data review, and data entry were invested during each campaign.

In summary, each stem greater than or equal to 1 cm DBH is measured, mapped and identified to species level. In each recensus, measurements of old, new, and multi-stems are conducted. Particularly at SCBI, when measuring multi-stemmed plants, each stem (up to 6 stems) are given a different colored wire/combination to indicate which stems is being measured. New plants are added to the database and a new tag number applied.

References

Bourg, Norman A., William J. McShea, Jonathan R. Thompson, Jennifer C. McGarvey, and Xiaoli Shen. 2013. “Initial Census, Woody Seedling, Seed Rain, and Stand Structure Data for the SCBI SIGEO Large Forest Dynamics Plot.” Ecology 94 (9): 2111–2. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-0010.1.

Condit, Richard. 1998. Tropical Forest Census Plots: Methods and Results from Barro Colorado Island, Panama and a Comparison with Other Plots. Environmental Intelligence Unit. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03664-8.