Session Information
| Session | Poster Session | | Date | Monday (2008-04-07) | | Time | 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM | | Room | Grand Terrace |
Presentation Information
| Presenter | Feng Liu | | Title | Variability and inconsistency of the historic land survey records in Wisconsin | | Affiliation | University of Wisconsin-Madison | | Authors | Feng Liu, David Mladenoff, Nicholas Keuler, Lisa Schulte | | Keywords | Historic landscape, Public Land Survey (PLS), Scaling, Spatial pattern, Wisconsin | | Presentation Type | Poster | Abstract:
The US Public Land Survey (PLS) data from the US General Land Office are one of the best records of the pre-European settlement vegetation. These records have been used to generate pre-settlement vegetation maps in many states. However, a large amount of variability occurred among surveyors and the sampling patterns for line meander records and corner records are quite different. In this study, we examined the variability of witness trees among point types, surveyors, survey time and other variables. Differences of tree species, size, and distance to survey points were statistically tested using logistic regression and multi-factor ANOVA.
Results showed significant differences among point types on tree species, size and the distance to survey points. Corner witness trees had more diverse species composition than that of line trees. Meander trees had less aspen and more elm than the line and corner witness trees. Line trees are significantly bigger than corner and meander trees. Variability among surveyors was the primary source of variability among the records. Our results suggested that, compare to line trees, corner witness trees were a more unbiased reflection of the plant communities. These findings suggested that these survey records should be carefully examined before any quantitative analyses. Choice of spatial extent, methods of analyses and data sources to be used should be considered depending on the variables of interest and project purpose. |
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