Terrestrial Vegetation Biodiversity Monitoring Protocols Patricia Roberts-Pichette and Lynn Gillespie
	GLOSSARY
Appraisal :	as used in this document, initial work (e.g. preparation of a preliminary species list, rough chart of the area, etc,) on a stand of vegetation where permanent biodiversity monitoring plots are to be established. Survey is often used as a synonym, but in this document is used solely for the process of establishing plots using a theodolite, tapes etc.
ARNEWS :	Acid Rain National Early Warning System.
Basal area :	the area of the stem of a tree calculated from the diameter measured at breast height. It is used as the measurement to describe the area occupied by a tree.
Biodiversity :	a term derived from "biological diversity" that includes three levels of biological variability - ecosystem complexity, species richness, and genetic variation. In this document, the prime concern is at the level of species.
Breast height :	as used in this document, the point on the stem of a tree 1.3 m above the soil level with debris removed. It is at this point that the diameter of a tree is measured.
Canopy :	part of a forest or shrub community that is formed by the branches and leaves (or crowns) of its major woody species; also, any terrestrial plant community where a distinctive habitat is formed in the upper, denser regions of the taller plants. Closed canopy: the continuous layer formed when the branches (crowns) of the species making up the canopy interlace or overlap. Little sunlight penetrates to the ground vegetation, except when the leaves are absent.   Open canopy : the discontinuous layer in forests or other plant communities when the branches (crowns) of the individual species do not overlap. Sunlight penetrates to the ground vegetation year round.
Clinometer :	instrument for measuring slopes; in ecology, used as an aid for measuring tree heights.
Community :	a general term applied to a grouping of plants or animals that form part of an ecosystem and give it a certain degree of individuality, e.g. plant community, or animal community of a prairie ecosystem. In this document, community refers to plant community unless otherwise qualified.
Cover :	the area occupied by individuals of a species. It is usually determined by measuring the area of the ground covered by a plant, either by vertical projection of the area covered by the leaves of a species or by measuring canopy width. It is used to determine dominance.
Density :	describes the number of individuals of a species on a unit area basis.   D = number of individuals of a species in the sample total area in the sample (m2)
Dominance :	area occupied by a species on a unit area. Use basal area or cover as the measurement for area occupied.   Dom = basal area or cover of a species in the sample (m2) total area of the sample (m2)
dbh :	diameter at breast height; measurement taken on the stem of a tree 1.3 m above the ground.
Dwarf forest :	in Canada, coniferous or alder/birch-dominated communities in the taiga or at high altitudes. The trees are mature although small in stature and are often old.
EMAN :	Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network. EMAN comprises a network of approximately 100 research and monitoring sites in Canada which are organized in 14 terrestrial Ecological Science Cooperatives. EMAN provides a national perspective on the impacts of environmental changes on ecosystems, an early warning system that identifies new ecosystem changes as they emerge and reports on their distribution.
Ecotone :	a typically narrow, usually sharply defined zone of vegetation (transition zone) that separates two different plant communities, e.g. in riparian or lacustrine zones but sometimes quite broad as between two different biomes e.g. the prairie parklands between the prairies and the boreal forest.
Ecosystem :	A dynamic complex of organisms (biota) including humans, and their physical environment interacting as a unit. They may vary in size and composition, the term being applied to the whole world and its atmosphere, to units dominated by particular plant types (prairies, boreal forest) to a local pond, or quarry. In its broadest sense it includes environmental, biological social and economic elements.
Ecozone :	the largest ecological unit in the ecological land classification for Canada. Ecozones are subdivided into progressively smaller units based on similarities or dissimilarities in ecological characteristics, such as climate, soil or water properties, and the biota. Each ecozone is subdivided into ecoprovinces, each ecoprovince into ecoregions, and each ecoregion into ecozones.
Emergents :	individual trees, or clumps of trees that stand prominently higher than the continuous canopy of the forest e.g. in eastern Canada, white pine may be an emergent in hardwood forests; also refers to those plants rooted in water that have leaves above the water surface e.g. cattails are often emergents.
Epiphyte :	any non-parasitic plant that grows on another a plant without direct connection to the soil e g. a moss or lichen that grows on the trunk of a tree.
Flora :	All the plant species that grow spontaneously in a particular area/region or period, listed by species and considered as a whole; presence, not numbers of individuals, is what counts.
Field Layer :	see stratum.
Forest ecosystem :	ecosystem dominated by trees; the canopy may be closed or open. See also non-forest ecosystem.
Frequency :	describes the distribution of a species through the stand. It is determined by calculating the percentage of plots in a sample on which a species occurrs.   F = number of plots in which a species occurs total number of plots in the sample x 100
Ground layer :	see stratum.
Ground    vegetation :	as used in this document, a combination of the field and ground layers (see stratum); includes all herbaceous species in a community and all woody species up to 1 m in height, and non-vascular species such as mosses, lichens and mushrooms; includes small shrubs and tree seedlings.
GPS :	Global Positioning System. GPS is a satellite navigation system which provides specially coded satellite signals that can be processed in a GPS receiver to compute the location of the instrument. Four GPS satellite signals are used to compute positions in three dimensions.
Herbaceous :	not woody. The entire plant or the above-ground parts die back at the end of each growing season. If perennial, the buds are at or below the soil surface.
Importance value :	an index made up of relative density, relative dominance, and relative frequency that profiles the structural role of a species in a stand. It is useful for making comparisons among stands in reference to species composition and stand. IV = Relative Density + Relative Dominance + Relative Frequency
Lacustrine :	pertaining to lakes; also refers to the characteristic zones of vegetation fringing a lake.
Leaning tree :	any tree standing at an angle of greater than 30o from the vertical.
MAB :	the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Program on Man and the Biosphere. In Canada, the Canada/MAB Committee is the main contact.
Meta data :	information about what is in a data set; often defined as "data about data".
Nested plots :	a sampling system in which plots of different sizes are so arranged that larger plots contain the smaller ones.
Non-forest     ecosystem :	grasslands, shrublands, some bogs, semi-deserts, tundra, etc., where trees are not the dominant life form, although they may be present as scattered individuals or in patches. See forest ecosystem.
Plot :	a general term referring to any area of land of any shape (e.g. circle, square, rectangle etc.) or size, which may be used for any purpose (e.g. sampling).
Phenology :	the science dealing with the influence of climate (e.g. seasonal changes) on the recurrence of such annual phenomena as leafing out, flowering, ice cover or break-up, etc.
Photosynthetic     surface :	that area of the plant containing chlorophyll; usually leaves and herbaceous stems, but also includes young woody plant stems and branches.
Quadrat :	a specific ecological sampling term that refers usually to a square (original definition) or rectangular sampling plot of a predetermined area/size. As used in this document, the sample shape is square, and basic recommended sizes are: 100 m x 100 m (1 ha), 20 m x 20 m, 5 m x 5 m, and 1 m x 1 m. Other sizes are recommended for specific purposes.
Relative     Density :	describes the density of one species in relation to the density of all species.   RD = number of individuals of a species in the sample total number of individuals of all species in the sample x 100
Relative    Dominance :	describes the area occupied by one species relative to the area occupied by all species in the sample area. Basal area or cover are the variables commonly used for determining this value.   RDom = basal area or cover of species in the sample (m2) total basal area or cover of all species in the sample (m2) x 100
Relative    Frequency :	describes the distribution of one species relative to all species in the sample.   RF = frequency of a species total frequency of all species in the sample x 100
Responsible    Group :	as used in this document, refers to the decision-making team with overall responsibility for determining and managing all the research and monitoring at the site under consideration.
Riparian :	pertaining to rivers; as used in this document for convenience, it refers to the characteristic zones of vegetation fringing water bodies whether bordering a river or a lake; forests fringing rivers in grassland areas are sometimes known as gallery forests.
Sample :	Example or portion showing qualities and characteristics of a whole. The number of quadrats used for sampling a particular stand; the area enclosed by a quadrat.
Sapling :	young tree, normally single-stemmed, over 1 m in height, and smaller in height than a mature tree. Included with shrubs and small trees in this document.
Savannah :	grass-dominated ecosystem with scattered trees or tall shrubs or small clumps dotting the landscape; often transitional between forest and true grassland.
Seedling :	product of a germinated seed; may often be recognized by the presence of cotyledons (seed leaves). For convenience, young trees up to 1 m in height are considered as "seedlings".
Shrub :	multistemmed (i.e. without a clear trunk) woody plant; as used in this document a woody plant under 4 cm dbh and under 10 m in height that forms part of a plant community; may form the dominant woody vegetation in areas too wet or too dry to support trees (e.g. riparian areas subject to floods or ice damage; some tundra, and grassland communities).
Stand :	standing growth of plants; a particular example of a plant community, e.g. forest or grassland in which monitoring plot(s) are established.
Stratification :	the grouping into height classes of individual plants in a community or habitat.
Stratum (pl. strata) :	a horizontal layer of vegetation; most plant communities form well developed strata which are occupied by groups of species characteristic of that stratum. The strata are defined as follows:   Canopy : typically the uppermost, essentially continuous layer (stratum) of a plant community that is formed by the tallest individuals in a forest, shrub or herbaceous community; the area occupied by the leaves and branches of a single plant. Shrub and small tree layer (forest communities): beneath the canopy, consists of shade-tolerant woody species, consisting of small and immature canopy trees, small trees that do not reach into the canopy, and shrubs that are over 1 m in height. Shrubs may form the canopy in communities where conditions are not suitable for trees. Field layer : made up of herbaceous species of any height, and woody species up to 1 m in height. In this document combined with the ground layer and called ground vegetation. Ground layer : vegetation on the surface of the ground; usually mosses, lichens, and fungi together with low-growing herbaceous species, especially those with trailing or rosette growth forms. In this document combined with the field layer and called ground vegetation.
Survey :	as used in this document, the formal process for laying out a plot using survey methods.
Systematics :	the study of taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of organisms.
Taxon (pl: taxa) :	any unit of any rank within a taxonomic classification, e.g. genus, species, family, etc.
Taxonomy :	the science of classifying and naming organisms.
Transect :	A line or belt of vegetation selected for sampling; as used in this document, a continuous string of contiguous quadrats set in a line across vegetation gradients.
Theodolite :	Surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles by means of a telescope (transit and level).
Tundra :	The vegetation type above the tree line at high latitudes and altitudes.
UNESCO :	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Vegetation :	Plants collectively; the plant life of a region. Differs from "flora" because the populations of the different species are taken into consideration; common species are given more weight than occasional species.
Vegetation    gradient :	obvious changes in the type of vegetation across a landscape as a result of some physical change e.g. change in moisture regime: as the distance from a water body increases, the vegetation may change from herbaceous species, through shrubs and trees to a grassland; or change in elevation: as altitude increases, the vegetation may change from tall trees to small trees to alpine tundra (see also ecotone).
Voucher     specimen :	a properly mounted/preserved and archived specimen that serves to "document" the use of a specific name, or the presence of an organism in a particular place.

 

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