2.7 | Measurements of the effect of deer exclosure on plant percent cover and height
Percent cover and maximum height of the four species were measured in fall 2019, after 6.5 years of the fencing or no-fencing treatment. Percent cover was estimated in each of the sixteen 0.25 m2 subplots per plot, formed by blindly tossing a quadrat frame into each 1 m2 section of the 16 m2 plot. Percent cover was recorded as 0, >0-10%, >10%-20%, etc. The midpoints of the ranges were averaged to provide one cover score per 16 m2 plot. Maximum height was recorded on all individuals of the species in a 0.5 m x 4 m belt transect in each plot.
For each species, a one-tailed t-test for the difference between percent cover or mean heights was conducted using the Analysis Toolpak in Excel 2019.