Comparison between sampling methods for the assessment of rangeland resources in eastern Italian Alps

Abstract

The paper reports the results of the comparison between two sampling methods to assess pasture vegetation: i) a stratified sampling, which represents the commonly adopted method for the evaluation of pastures, and ii) a systematic sampling, which is more used in forest inventories. The study was carried out in the Comelico region (Veneto, Northern Italy) over an area of 1250 ha (including forests). The two methods showed significant differences in the estimate of pasture surfaces, whilst no significant differences were found as for the estimate of other important parameters, like floristic composition, pastoral value and pasture stocking rate.

Keywords

• pastures
• pastoral value
• sampling
• management