Scientific Note: New Land Survey Notation Proposed for Botanists

Botanists often locate plant collection sites on U.S. public land survey maps. Standard notation at the section level is exemplified by “Section 8, Township 5 North, Range 3 East, 1st Principal Meridian,” frequently abbreviated to “S8, T5N, R3E, 1 PM.” For reasons given below, it is suggested that the second and third parts of the notation, which disclose the survey coordinates of a particular 36-section township, be combined as follows: “Township (5 North, 3 East),” or “T(5N,3E).” The abbreviated notation then becomes “S8, T(5N,3E), 1PM.”