EXERCISE 4

DETERMINATION OF THE MINIMAL SIZE OF QUADRAT

BY SPECIES AREA CURVE METHOD

INTRODUCTION

The species area curve is a method that measures the richness of the kinds of plants and/or
animals that are found in a given area. It employs the establishment of quadrats of increasing sizes (or
nested quadrats) in enumerating the number of kinds of organism that are encountered. In an
ecosystem with a homogenous character, this number is assumed to be finite and that the chances of
encountering new kinds with increasingly large quadrats decreases until further increase no longer yield
new encounters. This quantity when plotted against the increasing quadrat area would at first behave as
an increasing line but which gradually bend then level off. The point of tapering off is the point that
marks the minimal area which represents the size of quadrat that could circumscribe a representative
number of taxa, reflecting in a way, the species richness of the area.

Since the procedure speaks of counting “species” the onus of precision for the veracity of data
would therefore rests on the researcher’s flaws ability to distinguish members of a “species.” For
example, in the determination of a species area curve and corresponding minimal area, it is considered a
serious mistake to count subspecies as species since this would overestimate the species richness.

The terms “species” in layman’s term is equivalent to the word “kinds” or “types” and Linnaeus
invented the binomial nomenclature to label the different kinds of animals and plants in nature. Many
of the layman’s “types” of animals and plants coincide with the systematists’ concept of biological
species. According to this concept, the biological species consists of groups of actually and potentially
interbreeding populations that are genetically isolated from other such groups. Usually, members of the
species look alike. However, many species have members that do not look alike even in the same
population, for example individuals of the same species in a given locality vary in size, shape, color, in
other words the members are polymorphic and yet they interbreed and form fertile offsprings.

The main criterion that defines a biological species is that the members should be exclusively
and freely interbreeding among themselves in nature, regardless whether or not members are
homogenous or heterogenous in appearance. The members of the species occupy a geographic range
and within such a range they live in preferred local environments (or habitats).

On the other hand, monotypic species present no problem in defining members in the field
because the appearance of members is homogenous throughout their geographic range. Polytypic
species (or species that are subdivided into infraspecific categories such as subspecies, varieties, forma
or ecotypes) present difficulty of recognizing variable members as belonging to the same species,
especially in areas where the geographic ranges of each subspecies, variety, forma or ecotype overlap.
To assign the different morphs in a species as distinct species results in an overestimation of species
richness. The term “morph” means expression of a set of taxonomic characters or attributes.
 Sibling species refer to closely related biological species whose members are morphologically
similar and is difficult to distinguish from one with the other although in places where their geographic
ranges overlap they become differentiated through character displacement. The error of lumping sibling
species or morphologically alike species as one species leads to an underestimation of the actual species
richness.

Forest ecologist often encounter strange plants and animals in frontier forests ecosystems. The
risk of assigning species rank to member of polymorphs and/or polytypic species is almost certain. Field
specimens are often sterile (no flower or fruit specimen) and reliance on leaf characters in identification
is often unreliable. To avoid blunders, the forest ecologist do not use the term species and instead use
the loose term “taxon” instead of species. The phrases “number of species” are not the same. Taxon is
defined as any individual organism referable to a taxonomic category, its plural is taxa.

A collection of individuals of species living in a given locality defines a population. Exact

sympatry (living in the same place) and synchrony (living in the same time) is possible only to obligate
parasites and their hosts because both kinds have their populations obviously occupy the same
geographic space at the same time. Normally, populations of different species have different geographic
ranges and different preferred habitats. Members of populations of different species are found together
usually only in situations where their geographical and temporal preferences overlap. It is not
impossible, however, to encounter sympatry due to sheer random chance. In a homogenous
community, the set of taxa lives together because these taxa may share common adaptations to
prevailing set of environmental factors, for example they overlap in terms of sunlight, moisture and
nutrient requirements at that particular point in time and in space. The individuals that make up the
community are therefore only samples or subsets of different species.

Species richness if often a function of the status of the environment. Harsh environments only
accommodate the members of only the hardiest of species while mild environments can accommodate a
broader spectrum of species.

OBJECTIVES

1. To determine the minimal area that would be recommended as plot size for quadrat sampling
technique.

2. To learn the techniques of laying-out quadrats for vegetation analysis.

3. To learn the manual computation for the importance values of tree species given density, dominance
and frequency values.

PROCEDURE

1. Set-up quadrats (quadrat nesting) in the manner illustrated below.

 The initial quadrat is doubled to form the area of the second quadrat. The second quadrat in
turn is doubled to form the area of the third quadrat, and so on. Hence, Quadrat A = I, Quadrat B = I + II,
Quadrat C = I + II + III, Quadrat D = I + II + III + IV, Quadrat E = I + II + III + IV + V, etc.

2. List species encountered in the different quadrats in Table 1. The total number of species encountered
in the initial quadrat (Quadrat A) is counted. The number of individuals per species is disregarded.
Succeeding quadrats are expected to yield new species not encountered from previous quadrat. The
number of new species encountered plus the number of species of the previous quadrat gives species
number for the present quadrat. Repeating the process will only show that in spite of the geometrically
increasing sampling quadrat areas, less new species are to be encountered until no new species will be
accounted with continuing area increment.

Table 1.Raw data for nested quadrat enumeration of taxa.

Quadrat A List of taxa

1. Colocasia esculenta

2. Litsea philippinensis

3. Paspalu conjugatum

4. Phylanthus debris

5. Amaranthus aspeera

6. Phyllanthus dibilis

7. Calopoganium mucunoides

Total number of taxa = 7

Quadrat B List of taxa

1. Swietenia macrophylla

Total number of taxa = 1

Quadrat C List of taxa

1. Cratoxylum sumatranom

Total number of taxa = 1

Quadrat D List of taxa

1. Costos malortieanus

Total number of taxa = 1

Qudrant E List of taxa

1. Chromolena odorata

Total number of taxa = 1

Quadrant F List of taxa

1. Termenalia calamansanai

2. Canarium asperum

3. Triumfelta rhomboida
Quadrat A List of taxa

1. Colocasia esculenta

2. Litsea philippinensis

3. Paspalu conjugatum

4. Phylanthus debris

5. Amaranthus aspeera

6. Phyllanthus dibilis

7. Calopoganium mucunoides

Total number of taxa = 7

4. Costus malortieanus

5. Cratoxylum sumatranum

6. Achyranthes aspera

7. Solanum erianthum

8. Litsea perrottetii

9. Paspalum conjugatum

10. Bridelia insulana

Total number of taxa = 10

Continue if there are new species encounters, stop the moment it has no new encounter.

3. Construct a species-area curve and determine the minimal area by going through the following steps:

a. Summarize the raw data from Table 1 in Table 2.

Table 2. Summary of data

QUADRAT AREA Cumulative Number of Species

A 2m 7

B 2m 9
 QUADRAT AREA Cumulative Number of Species

C 4m 10

D 8m 11

E 16m 12

F 32m 23

b. Plot the value of cumulative number of species against total area of each quadrat. Use
graphing paper. The Y-axis represents the cumulative number of species and the X-axis
represents the area of quadrats. Each quadrat area has a corresponding value of cumulative
number of species and would appear as scattergram. Construct a smooth curve that passes
through the approximate mean value of the scattergram. Do not connect the points because
doing so results in zigzag line instead of a smooth curvilinear curve.

c. Using 10% of the total number of species and total quadrat area, plot a reference line
designated as RL. The RL can be drawn by simply connecting the point of the origin with the
point defined by the total area of quadrats and total cumulative species encountered.

d. Draw a line parallel to RL and tangent to the species curve. The point this tangent touched the
curve marks the perpendicular line to the x-axis and therefore points the value of the minimal
area.

e. To determine the exact value of the minimal area in terms of area units, count the number of
millimetres present in 1 unit area then use ratio and proportion. For example,

x minimal area =

What is the minimal area you should use for your particular vegetation? Why?

DISCUSSION

A quadrat is a tool used to record the abundance or density of a particular species in a study area. In
some instances it may be possible to simply count the number of organisms of a particular species in an
area. However, in most cases counting all of the organisms would not be practical and other sampling
methods are necessary. Quadrats are often square, circular or rectangular areas, of appropriate sizes
that are placed at random in the study area. Presence or absence of species, numbers of organisms, or
the percentage cover of each species is generally calculated within the quadrat.
On the data gathered, in the first Quadrant with an area of 2 meters squared had a total of 7 numbers of
taxa. In the case of every quadrat, we excluded those taxa that are already in the other plot or quadrat
( just like in quadrat B, C, D and E). Unlike to the last quadrat, which has the most abondant number of
taxa for it has a lenght of are of 32 meters squared. By this, we'll see the difference among the 6 quadrat
base on the length of its area.

CONCLUSION

A species as groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively
isolated from other groups it involves the reproductive isolation, some plants ag. weeds prevent
members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring are sterile by this
area is invaded of one specie. Obviously on furst quadrat many species are listed but on the next quadrat
and the rest only few species were seen because it was reproductively isolated.

REFERENCES:

MUELLER-DOMBOIS, D. AND ELLENBERG. 1974. Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. New York –
John Wiley and Sons, p. 47.