cover

views updated

cover In descriptions of plant communities, the proportion of ground, usually expressed as a percentage, that is occupied by the perpendicular projection down on to it of the aerial parts of individuals of the species under consideration. The most widely used visual scales are the Domin scale and the Braun-Blanquet 5-point scale. A more objective estimate may be obtained using a pin-frame sample of a point-quadrat.

More From encyclopedia.com