1. If using a 60m measuring tape / rope, leave one side of the tape at the relevant sample location you’re recording at, and walk the other end in a straight line away from your sample point. Otherwise, follow the next steps by moving in an approximate line away from your sample point.

2. Walk along your line transect, sticking your post into the ground every 2 feet (or 60cm).

3. Look at where the post goes into the ground, and record in the dropdown list whether your stick hits bare soil, forbs, ground litter, grasses or legumes each time.

N.B. You should only record the result as one of the plant options if your post is touching the stem of the plant going into the soil – i.e. not a leaf or outer stem covering bare soil.

4. Continue with these steps as you move along your transect, or as far as your field borders will allow you to. Ideally you should do 100 of these readings along your transect, so it’s a good test to enlist some help with!

Watch the instructional video below to see the basal ground cover transect in action!