Steve, It is my opinion that each of the sub-parks with a different name should be presented separately. Once you have a number of them, then a composite RI should be presented for the group as a whole. I always like to see the number of species measured at a location to represent as many of the species present as possible, even if they obviously will not make the top ten heights. I would encourage a species profile that includes all the species measured at each site in addition to the basic Rucker Height Index.
This same approach is one I am working on with respect to the islands in the Allegheny River - including the Allegheny River Island Wilderness Islands and nearby forest service and privately owned islands. I am doing a RI and a species profile for all of the islands for which there is sufficient data, and a compilation of the data from the group. I also have graphs prepared in which the results from each individual island are superimposed on a standard species profile for the islands as a whole. In this way the profiles for each island are compared to a standard and in the same order to facilitate comparisons between the islands.. Ed Frank Check out my new Blog: http://nature-web-network.blogspot.com/ (and click on some of the ads) ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Galehouse To: ENTS Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 11:47 PM Subject: [ENTS] Rucker Index parameters ENTS- I'm hoping to measure several areas in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park this winter, each with its own "sub-park" name, and was wondering how the data should be presented to ENTS--as individual smaller regions, or as the extensive park as a whole(or both). The whole park is large in area, but not like the forest preserves in the East. The same question can be posed for county based Metro-parks in my area. Of course the greater the area sampled the higher the R.I. Steve -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
