Gava Field Study Methodology: Managed and Unmanaged Sand Dunes
Transect lines are laid across the managed and
unmanaged sand dune ecosystems as shown below. These allow for statistical
analysis related to the examination of human impact and the evaluation of dune
management strategies. The Mann Whitney u test
can be used to compare vegetation biodiversity between similar zones on the two
profiles (e.g. dune slacks) or Spearman's Rank
to test hypotheses on a single profile (e.g. that vegetation diversity increases
with distance inland).
Managed dune profile with
representative vegetation zones (Gava coastal walkway)
Unmanaged dune profile
with representative vegetation zones (Gava coastal walkway)
