Investigation Comparison of Transect Sampling Methods in Estimation of Quantitative Characteristics of Forest (Case study: Daalaab forests of Ilam)

Basic forest management and planning require appropriate quantitative and qualitative information. This information obtained from forest inventory. So forest inventory have an essential role in estimating present situation and future planning. In this study، 37. 2 hectares of Daalaab forest of Ilam province were calculated with 1 hectare samples. To analyze quantitative characteristics، “transect with fixed length (50 m)” and “transect with fixed number of tree (5 trees)” were selected for comparison. Measured characteristics were density (number tree per hectare)، crown cover and basal area. Based on systematic-random sampling pattern with 100 × 100m dimension، 37 samples were selected for each sampling method. In each sample، characteristics of trees were recorded and measured. Results this investigation showed that based on precision and cost criteria، transect with fixed number tree sampling method is a more suitable method for analysis of quantitative characteristics in the studied forests.