{"id":69704,"date":"2016-07-18T13:51:48","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T20:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-clm-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=69704"},"modified":"2016-07-18T13:51:48","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T20:51:48","slug":"amphibians-and-aim-and-everything-in-between","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.clminternship.org\/?p=69704","title":{"rendered":"Amphibians and AIM and everything in between"},"content":{"rendered":"

I remember reading through the CLM blog after submitting an application, feeling very curious and eager to imagine what my life could look like in just a few months. And I also remember trying to de-code all of the acronyms people were using and figure out what it was that they were doing, as I had never worked for a government agency and was fresh out of undergrad.<\/p>\n

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running transects through a greasewood dominant plot<\/p><\/div>\n

AIM (Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring) is a method that the BLM is now using to monitor natural resources, make better management decisions, and contribute to long-term monitoring of the land and the vegetation that occupies it.<\/p>\n

In a nutshell: At each site, three 25-meter transects run in different directions from a central point. At multiple points along those transects, many measurements are taken such as\u00a0soil stability and canopy gaps. Species richness is calculated for the site, and a 1-meter deep pit is dug to determine the composition of the horizons, the soil’s texture and color.\u00a0Knowing the common species of plants in your area\u00a0makes it go a lot faster, but even then, each site takes the\u00a0crew about 2.5 hours, sometimes 3 (depending on how easy it is to navigate to the site). I enjoy going out with them to AIM and am starting to recognize most common species; my appreciation and admiration for both the botanists and the plants they study has grown immensely.<\/p>\n\n\t\t