Phenology Exercises: Creating a Sketch Map

Creating a Sketch Map of Your Study Site

Sketch maps help document the location of a study site and can provide information about important features within the study area. It can be as detailed as you would like it to be, or it can be a rough sketch with estimated distances or those collected with a meter tape and compass. The sketch map is an important part of data collection, and should be recorded in the field notebook.

What you will need for a sketch map:

• Pencils with erasers
• Paper template
• Clipboard
• 25-50 meter tape
• Pin flags to mark your site boundary
• Compass
• GPS Unit
• Base map or aerial photo of the area
• Colored pencils (optional)

Drawing a Sketch Map:

1. Walk the entire study site

look at any features that will be important to map, such as slopes, landforms, streams, big rocks, buildings, or large trees. You can note slope direction with arrows on the map

2. Flag the boundary

Place pin flags at the four corners of the study area, to mark the boundary of the area for the map. Also, mark any important features with flags, so that you will not forget to measure to them or include them in the map

3. Measure or pace the boundary

Walk and measure the distances between the four corners, marking them on the edges of the map, giving you a border within which to contain your sketch map

4. Take GPS coordinates

For large study sites, take GPS coordinates of the four corners and center point of the site. For small sites
(< 30 X 30 meters), take a GPS coordinate in the center of the site. Record these coordinates and points on your sketch map

5. Pick a location to draw from

Choose a location where you have a good perspective of the entire study site. Be sure to consider the direction in which your map will be oriented, with regard to your perspective. Many maps are oriented with north facing up, but as long as you include a north arrow in your sketch, it can be oriented in any direction

6. Draw major landforms and features

Draw features like buildings, big trees, or rocks, and streams first, then move on to minor features. Include a map legend to distinguish between vegetation types and features on the map

7. Add distances to your sketch map

If you can make measurements, you can either include these directly on the map, or simply use them to accurately place features on the map

8. Annotate your map

Note things like grassy areas, exposed soil, or descriptions of other features that may be hard to draw clearly

9. Add map elements

The key elements that should be included in all maps are:

• North arrow
• Scale bar
• Author(s)
• Date
• Legend
• Title

Image Source: Project BudBurst