MariMapCreate Survey Plan

Creating a Survey Plan

Survey plans make field execution repeatable. Teams should avoid ad hoc survey setup when long-term comparability matters.

Survey plans are the recommended way to:

  • Reuse the same sampling geometry across repeat surveys
  • Keep protocols consistent across field teams
  • Pre-configure taxa filters (so data entry is constrained and standardized)
  • Schedule recurring monitoring (optional)

Wizard steps (what you will configure)

1) Plan setup

Choose the site and protocol (method) the plan will be used for.

Common protocols include:

  • Mangrove tree growth
  • Fauna observation
  • Benthic transect
  • Fish belt transect
  • Benthic images / photopoints
  • Coral fragment monitoring (facility workflows)

Protocol hints in the UI help you choose appropriate geometry.

2) Geometry & units

Add sampling geometry inside the site:

  • AOI polygon (area-of-interest boundary)
  • Transect lines (two-point lines)
  • Point sets / photopoints

You may also be able to select existing sampling units (paths/areas/units) depending on site setup.

3) Plan filters

Optional but strongly recommended:

  • Taxon filters constrain which taxa/codes appear during data entry.
  • Taxon profiles let you reuse a consistent filter set across plans and sites.

4) Naming & recurrence

  • Use a clear plan name (include protocol + site + year/season if helpful).
  • Optionally set a recurrence schedule (RRULE-style behind the scenes) so the plan can surface “next due” monitoring.

5) Review

Confirm protocol, geometry, and filter logic before creating the plan.

Start and scope the plan

  1. Open Surveys then Plans.
  2. Select Create plan.
  3. Choose project, site, and protocol.

Survey plan start

Configure geometry and filters

  1. Add or select plan geometry.
  2. Configure taxa and parameter filters.
  3. Save with clear naming convention.

Survey plan geometry

Survey plan filters

Geometry guidance by protocol (practical defaults)

  • Benthic / fish / invertebrate transects: use multiple short transect lines. Keep transect length consistent across repeats.
  • Tree growth: use AOI polygons or transects that capture your mangrove stand structure.
  • Fauna observation: use AOI polygons to bound observations and reduce spatial ambiguity.
  • Benthic images: use quadrats, transects, or photopoints; keep a stable photopoint set if you are building time series.

Plan governance

  • One plan per stable protocol and site pattern
  • Explicit version updates when method changes
  • Keep deprecated plans archived, not deleted
  • Prefer “Create survey from plan” so geometry reuse is automatic
  • If you change geometry materially, create a new plan (don’t overwrite history)

Related pages

Restoration WorkspaceCreate Survey