The spatial variability in soil carbon should be critically considered in designing a sampling scheme. dHigh spatial variability of SOC can rise sevenfold when scaling up from point sample to landscape scales, resulting in high uncertainties in calculations of SOC stocks. This hinders the ability to accurately measure changes in stocks at scales relevant to emissions trading schemes (Hobley and Willgoose, 2010)

Sampling desings commonly used in biophysical scinces is summarized in Figure 1. Refer de Gruijter et al. (2006) for details on sampling designs.

 

Figure 1. Basic sampling designs (de Gruijter et al., 2006).

 

 

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de Gruijter, J.J., Brus, D, Bierkens, M., Knotters, M. 2006. Sampling for natural resource monitoring. Springer: Berlin.

Hobley, E., Willgoose, G. 2010. 19^th World Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World 1 – 6 August 2010, Brisbane, Australia. Published on DVD.