Title: A NEW INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING GROUND COVER BASED ON THE POINT-HIT TECHNIQUE THE OPTICAL POINT BAR
Abstract: The advantages of the point-hit technique are many, however, the disadvantages of pin based point frames limit the utility of the technique to relatively short vegetation.A new optically based point frame or 11 bar" was developed to allow use of the technique for measurement of ground cover for any stratum of vegetation.Additional benefits of this new instrument include: faster collection of data, more accurate data (technical deviation and bias have virtually been eliminated), and the ability to collect data from a true vertical position.Results from field trials comparing the twci kinds of instrumentation show the advantages of the optical point bar as well as the advantages of the point-hit technjque over other methods for measuring ground cover.