3. Choose the quadrat
location
This could be in your school grounds, a local reserve or anywhere the quadrat will not be disturbed. Because you want to find and identify as many life forms as you can, avoid high human traffic areas - the sports field is out!
Feel free to use the Quadrat Worksheet courtesy of Helen Armstrong, Western Springs College.
Permissions will have to be sought. For example, if the quadrat is in your school grounds, the caretaker will have to understand why it is there so that he/she will not mow or plough it.
Once you have chosen your area, first take a photograph and describe the:
- Terrain - is it hilly, steep, rolling or flat?
- Position - is it sheltered or exposed?
- Amount of shade/sun it gets - check this beofore school, interval, lunch and after school.
- Soil type - is it mostly sandy, loamy or clay? Use the Poke, Scrunch and Drown test.
- What is the quality of the soil - is it friable (crumbles easily) or hard?
- Find the soil's Maori name.
4. Marking the quadrat
You can make the quadrat square from plumbing pipe as shown in the diagram, or anything else available such as fencing posts and string or a wooden frame with fishing line. This is your quadrat.
A quadrat is a measured and marked rectangle. The one pictured consists of 16 squares.
Once the quadrat is marked, you count all the flora, fauna and fungi in a decided number of squares. You are counting what is above the ground but will have to spread apart the leaf litter/grass to see what is underneath it.
In the end, you have a percentage of what is present in the whole quadrat.