FQAI Calculator Manual Entry FQAI Calculator As part of this project, two Calculator applications have been developed as tools for continued assessment of surveyed sites. The main FQAI Calculator accesses a database of Coefficient of Conservatism values determined for each plant in Ohio and in the Upper Penns Creek Watershed, and provides save and print functions so that you can save survey results for future reference. A second Manual Entry Calculator enables users to add plants that do not appear on the two lists, and/or assign alternate C of C values to plants. Both of these tools can be used to assess restoration sites. Using the Calculators Enter the plants you have found by genus and species using the FQAI Calculator’s drop down boxes. (Note: Upon selecting another genus your previous entry will be alphabetized in the list.) The calculator will perform the computation to determine the Floristic Quality Assessment Index as defined by the Ohio and Illinois studies for the area of your survey. A second "adjusted" FQAI value is calculated by changing the results to percentages of natives, and it is useful when comparing two sites which are dissimilar in size or in natural plant diversity. The Coefficient of Conservatism values determined for each plant in Ohio and in the Upper Penns Creek Watershed have been used in the computer, so you will receive two sets of scores at the bottom of the page. An asterisk indicates that one or more of the plants you have entered does not have a C of C value on one of the lists. Using the Manual Calculator you can add plants that do not appear on either the Ohio or Upper Penns Creek Watershed lists. In the text fields you can add plants and define C of C values. By taking advantage of the adjusted FQAI values generated by the calculators, you easily can assess sites that host a variety of species that are included and absent from the Ohio and Upper Penns Creek Watershed lists. Enter as much of your site list as possible using the Main Calculator to take advantage of the predetermined C of C values. Then, enter the remaining species and their respective C of C values using the manual entry calculator. To integrate the two lists, manually calculate the arithmetic average of the separate adjusted FQAI values. Survey Notes It is recommended that your survey area be at least 100 meters square for the most valid results, and it is important to identify every plant in that area. The season in which you perform your survey may affect your results, so it would be interesting to revisit the same sites in different seasons. Mid July is recommended for wetland and riparian sites as sedge and grass identification to species is important. Saved Site Surveys Please note that it may be necessary for the webmaster periodically to purge some of the saved lists. We recommend that you print survey results for your own records.