Transect lines are laid across the managed and
unmanaged 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)