Determination of the most appropriate transect length for Canopy Cover and density Estimation in Mangrove Forests (Case study:Qeshm Island)

The purpose mangrove forests management the sustainable productivity of ecological services (ecological) plant coastal community based on investigation habitat scrutiny, the classification of plants and vegetative zones.In this research, In order to investigate and determine an appropriate inventory method for Qeshm Mangrove forests, considering inventory precision (confidence limit) and accuracy for canopy cover parameter per hectare and number per hectare a region with 632 ha area was selected in northwest of Qeshm island. An inventory grid with 200 × 500 m size was designed and established in the study area. Then, 60 control plots with 1 hectare area were laid out. Samplings carried out by diagonal transects with 50, 100, 150and 200m.Finally, the results of sampling by different lengths of transects were compared with control plots using analysis of variance and (E %)2 ×T criterion. The results of ANOVA showed that different lengths of transects had no significant differences (at confidence level of 95%) with control plots for estimation of species number per hectare and percentage crown cover parameters. Transects with 200m length had the most precision for estimating the above-mentioned parameters. Also, comparison of results for different lengths of transects with (E %)2 ×T criterion showed that transects with 100 m length are more appropriate for estimating the percentage crown cover and species number per hectare. It can be concluded that the transect 200 M the most precision and transect 100 M with (E %)2 ×T criterion is the most appropriate inventory method for these forests.