Summary
This exploratory study addresses a gap in geostatistical communication: helping agronomists, soil scientists, and policymakers understand trade-offs between sampling intensity and information quality at the survey planning stage. Four distinct methods for communicating prediction uncertainty are presented, each interrogating spatial dependence models differently. The study uses expert questionnaire evaluation to determine which methods most effectively support rational budgeting decisions for field sampling campaigns.
UK applicability
The communication frameworks are method-agnostic and potentially applicable to UK soil survey planning contexts. However, applicability depends on whether UK soil scientists and policymakers face similar decision-support needs in geostatistical survey design.
Key measures
Offset correlation; prediction interval width; conditional probability of misclassification at decision thresholds; implicit loss function valuations; expert questionnaire responses on method effectiveness
Outcomes reported
The study evaluated four communication methods for conveying a priori uncertainty in geostatistical predictions to help users select appropriate sampling densities: offset correlation, prediction interval width, probability of decision error, and implicit loss functions. Experienced survey planners assessed the effectiveness of each method via questionnaire.
Topic tags
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