Section 11-8-8-2-A-8-IV - Sampling ProceduresA. Random Sampling 1. To assure that the samples truly represent the vegetative characteristics of the whole release or reference area, the permittee must use methods that will provide 1) a random selection of sampling sites, 2) a sampling technique unaffected by the sampler's preference, and 3) sufficient samples to represent the true mean of the vegetative characteristics.2. Sampling points shall be randomly located by using a grid overlay on a map of the release or reference area and by choosing horizontal and vertical coordinates as described in Addendum A. Each sample point must fall within the release area boundaries and be within an area having the vegetative cover type being measured. Additionally, if the release area does not consist of a single unit, at least one sample point must be measured in each noncontiguous unit.3. The permittee shall notify the Office of Geology ten days prior to conducting sampling or other harvesting operations to allow any authorized representative of the Department an opportunity to monitor the sampling procedures.B. Sampling Techniques 1. Ground cover shall be measured as the area covered by the combined aerial parts of the plant species approved in the permit and the leaf litter that is produced naturally onsite, expressed as a percentage of the total area of measurement. Up to fifteen percent of acceptable cover may be litter from acceptable plant species.2. Trees and shrubs shall be measured as the number of countable approvable woody stems, expressed as stems per acre for the total area of measurement.3. Because ground cover and tree/shrub density are measured differently, the techniques for sampling each must also be different. For ground cover, the permittee shall identify the species or type of cover using a line-point transect method. Trees and shrubs will be measured using randomly selected one-fiftieth of an acre sampling circles.4. Each transect or sampling circle must be entirely within a homogeneous area that accurately represents the vegetative cover type being measured. Samples must be taken in pure vegetation types and not in transition zones between adjacent types. Also, the sample sites must be located so they avoid the effects of neighboring vegetation types, roads, stream courses, ponds, etc.a. Line-Point Transect (Ground Cover) A line-point transect shall be a series of 100 points spaced one foot apart along a straight line. The permittee shall establish a transect at each of the randomly selected sampling points. The direction of the transect shall also be determined randomly. This can be done as easily as spinning a pencil on a clipboard or throwing the pencil in the air and using the direction where it points.
The permittee shall classify the ground cover at each one foot interval along the entire length of the transect (starting one foot from the random point). The area of measurement shall be a line projected downward and perpendicular to the ground at each one foot interval (100 in total).
At each point along the transect, ground cover shall be classified as acceptable or unacceptable as follows, except that as long as there is sufficient cover to adequately control erosion, any volunteer species not on the state and Federal Noxious Weeds List (Addendum T) is acceptable:
| Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| Vegetation approved in permit | Rock or bare ground |
| Dead vegetation or litter from acceptable species | Vegetation or litter from list in list in Addendum T |
All data gathered from the line-point transects shall be recorded in the format shown in Addendum C.
b. Sampling Circles (Trees/Shrubs) A sampling circle shall be a round area one-fiftieth of an acre in size (16.7 feet in radius). The permittee shall establish a sampling circle at each randomly selected sampling point such that the center of the sampling circle is the random point. Permittee may draw the circle by attaching a 16.7 foot string to a stake fixed at the random point and then sweeping the end of the string (tightly stretched) in a circle around the stake. The permittee shall count all living trees and shrubs within each of the sampling circles. In more mature tree/shrub areas, the stakes may need to be extended to elevate the string above the growth.
To count as a living tree or shrub, the tree or shrub must be alive and healthy; must have been in place for at least two years; and must have at least one-third of its length in live crown. At the time of liability release, eighty percent must have been in place for three years.
All data gathered from the sampling circles shall be recorded in the format presented in Addendum F.
C. Sample Adequacy See Addenda I and K for sample adequacy.
11 Miss. Code. R. 8-8-2-A-8-IV