Q: The population that I am studying is not very dense. If I lay the transect from what I consider to be the edge of the population, then there are several plots that have less than five or even no plants in them at all. Is this okay?
A: Yes. This can happen in a sparse population, and the fact that there are only few plants in some plots is an important piece of information.

Q: If an adult plant has multiple stems, do I use all of them for the measurements?
A: All stems that belong to the same plant individual must be taken into account when counting the fruits, and when counting whole and damaged leaves. Of course the height of the adult is only measured once, on the tallest stem.

Q: Some of the leaves of adult plants are already pretty old and crumpled (a.k.a. wilted, senescent). It is very difficult to assess the herbivore damage on these. What should I do with them?
A: Leave out these leaves from all counting. For counting the whole and damaged leaves, only use those leaves that are intact enough for you to actually see the damage.

Q: There are some really tiny leaves on the rosettes, or right below the flowers on adult plants, or along the stem of adult plants. What am I supposed to do with these? Do they count?
A: All leaves that are fully expanded can be used for the leaf counts. Usually these will be at least > 1 cm.

Q: Some plants have few seeds to collect, is this okay?
A: If a plant has <10 seeds it is best to find another nearby plant, even if it is not the closest to the 20cm mark on the transect. However, seeds and measurements should be taken from the SAME plant.

Q: How will this experiment improve my own efforts to control garlic mustard?
A: See the note: "Why Non-Scientists Should Participate"