The results of such a technique cna provide important information about the relationships between plants. Many inter and intra-specific plant relationships are difficult to observe without using distance based sampling techniques. With the nearest individual method, random points are located in a stand, the distance from each sampling point to the nearest plant is measured, the species is identified, and its basal area is measured. In the nearest neighbor method, random points are located in a stand and the nearest plant is located. The distance from this individual to its nearest neighbor is measured.
Density is calculated as in the nearest individual technique.
In the random pairs method, a line is taken from a point along a transect to the nearest plant. Perpendicular to the line and passing through the point is an exclusion line. The distance from this individual to the nearest neighbor that is on the same side of the exclusion line is measured. A difficulty in using these methods is that if the density is low, it may be impractical to search beyond a certain distance for the nearest individual. Sampling With Photographs Traditional sampling methods may be too labor intensive to provide accurate information over large areas.