Observations are how Terraware tracks the health and progress of plants in your Planting Sites over time. Each Observation involves field staff visiting assigned monitoring plots within a Planting Site and recording live and dead plant counts by Species. Assigned Plot Observations are scheduled in the Terraware web app by Admins and Managers. Field staff then conduct the Observations using the Terraware mobile app.
Before you can schedule an Observation, your Planting Site must have plants allocated to it through seedling withdrawals. For more information, see Seedling Withdrawals.
Sites can also be monitored within plots that are not assigned by Terraware. For more information, see Ad Hoc Plot Observations.
Note: If your project is part of the Terraformation Accelerator, you'll be required to conduct Plant Monitoring Observations at regular intervals. Terraformation will provide additional guidance on monitoring requirements for Accelerator participants.
Understanding monitoring plots
When an Observation is scheduled and its start date arrives, Terraware automatically assigns monitoring plots within each Stratum that has had plants allocated to it. Plots are not assigned until the Observation starts — this prevents any bias in how planting areas are treated and ensures plot locations reflect the most up-to-date withdrawal data.
Each monitoring plot is a 30x30 meter square. Plots are either permanent or temporary:
- Permanent plots are monitored in every Observation cycle for the life of the project. They provide a consistent long-term record of how the land changes over time.
- Temporary plots are assigned fresh for each Observation cycle. They help build a broader picture of site health without requiring the entire site to be monitored every time.
The number of plots assigned per Stratum is determined by a formula based on the Common Stand Examination protocol developed by the United States Forest Service. The main factor affecting the number of plots is the variance in planting density — the higher the variance, the more plots are needed to reach a statistically significant result. For answers to common questions about monitoring plots, see Assigned Plot Observations FAQ.
If any assigned plot needs to be reassigned — for example, because it's in an inaccessible location — use the Request Reassignment feature in the monitoring plot table. Terraware will assign a new location for the plot.
Note: Monitoring plots are numbered sequentially across all Planting Sites in your Organization. This means plot numbers are unique across your entire account, not just within a single Planting Site.
Observation status
Observations move through the following statuses:
- Scheduled — the Observation has been scheduled but its start date has not yet arrived.
- In Progress — the Observation's start date has arrived and monitoring is underway.
- Overdue — the Observation's end date has passed and it has not yet been completed.
- Completed — all plots have been monitored and data has been uploaded.
- Completed (Ended) — the Observation was ended manually before all plots were observed.
Schedule an Observation
- Navigate to Observations in the left navigation. Note: The Observations link only appears once at least one Planting Site has plants allocated to it.
- Click Schedule Observation.
- Select the Planting Site for which you want to schedule the Observation.
- Optionally, check Limit Observation to restrict the Observation to specific Substrata only. When checked, all Substrata with plants are selected by default. Check and uncheck specific Substrata as needed.
- Select the Observation Start Date. Note: Observations can be scheduled up to one year in advance.
- Select the Observation End Date. Note: Observation periods cannot exceed two months.
- Click Save. A notification about the scheduled Observation will appear in the Observations page and will be visible to all members of your Organization.
Reschedule an Observation
- In the Observations screen, find the scheduled Observation notice and click Reschedule.
- Update the start date, end date, or Substrata selection as needed.
- Click Save.
Download monitoring plot locations
Once an Observation is In Progress, you can download a CSV file of the monitoring plot coordinates to help plan field activities.
- In the Observations table, click the More menu for the In Progress Observation.
- Click Export Locations.
- A CSV file will download automatically with the filename format:
planting-site-name-observation-date.csv.
You can also view plot locations on the map in the Observations page. You can also view the plot coordinates in the Observations in the mobile app.
View Observation data
- In the Observations table, click the date of the Observation you want to view.
- In the Stratum table, click the name of the Stratum you want to see data for.
- In the monitoring plot table, click the name of the plot you want to see data for.
The following numbers are shown for each Observation:
- Total Plants — all observed plants recorded as live and dead. Does not include pre-existing plants.
- Live Plants — observed plants recorded as live. Does not include pre-existing plants.
- Dead Plants — observed plants recorded as dead.
- Species — the number of Species represented by all observed plants, including pre-existing plants.
- Plant Density — plants per hectare, calculated based on live plants observed. Does not include pre-existing plants.
- Survival Rate — calculated based on the specified initial plant density and the number of live plants observed. Does not include pre-existing plants, unknown Species, or Species not in your Species list.
Note: If an Observation is conducted in areas not yet marked as planting complete, Terraware will not calculate plant density, and it will not appear in the Observations tables or the Plants Dashboard.
Edit uploaded plot data
After a monitoring plot's data has been completed and uploaded to Terraware, select data for the plot can be edited in the web app. Navigate to the plot in the Observations page to make any needed corrections.
End an Observation early
If you need to end an Observation before all plots have been observed:
- In the Observations table, click the More menu for the In Progress Observation.
- Click End Observation.
- In the confirmation screen, click End Observation.
Note: Observation data will not appear in the Plants Dashboard until the Observation has been ended or completed.