Evaluation of Plot-scale Methods for Assessing and Monitoring Salt Marsh Vegetation Composition and Cover

Kenneth B. Raposa^1,*, Thomas E. Kutcher², Wenley Ferguson³, Richard A. McKinney⁴, Ken Miller⁵,and Cathleen Wigand⁴

¹Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, PO Box 151, Prudence Island RI 02872. ²Rhode Island Natural History Survey, 14 East Farm Road, Kingston RI 02881. ³Save The Bay, 100 Save The Bay Drive, Providence RI 02905. ⁴NHEERL-EPA-ORD, Atlantic Ecology Division, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett RI 02882. ⁵Ministère des Transports du Québec, Direction de la Capitale-Nationale, Service des inventaires et des plans, Gouvernement du Québec, Montreal, QC H2Z 1W7, Canada. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 27, Issue 1 (2020): 151–167

Abstract
Vegetation is a key component of salt marsh monitoring programs, but different methods can make comparing datasets difficult. We compared data on vegetation composition and cover collected with 3 methods (point-intercept, Braun–Blanquet visual, and floristic quality assessment [FQA]) in 3 Rhode Island salt marshes. No significant differences in plant community composition were found among the methods, and differences in individual species cover in a marsh never exceeded 6% between methods. All methods were highly repeatable, with no differences in data collected by different people. However, FQA was less effective at identifying temporal changes at the plot scale. If data are collected from many plots in a marsh, any of the methods are appropriate, but if plot-scale patterns are of interest, we recommend point-intercept.

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