Grid-based topographic measurement

Knowledge graph centered on Grid-based topographic measurement with 45 nodes and 139 connections. Top connected: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, Crested Butte, Colorado East River Valley, Artemisia tridentata.

Method synopsis

Systematic measurement of slope and aspect at grid cell centers using compass and clinometer with clipboard to minimize micro-scale surface variation effects.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 2 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — What sexual diversity in the natural world can teach humans about sex, gender, and inclusive biology (2024), BioScience. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Measure slope and aspect
   Slope and aspect were measured in degrees using a compass and clinometer. As with the soil cores, measurements were taken as near the center of each grid cell as possible. To prevent very small rocks and microscale variations in soil surface from affecting measurements the slope was measured by placing the clinometer on a 9"×12" clipboard to even out the surface. The steepest slope was recorded and then the aspect of the steepest slope.
   Quantities: 256 measurements per site, 9"×12" clipboard dimensionsDuration: Not specifiedConditions: Field measurements at each grid cell center
   Equipment: compass, clinometer, 9"×12" clipboard

Typical Equipment

• compass
• clinometer
• 9"×12" clipboard

Output Measurements

• slope in degrees
• aspect in degrees

Papers Using This Protocol (2)

Species Studied With This Protocol

Places Where Used