398
appropriately. Often, it is not until details are questioned that it becomes clear which
aspects of a research plan are critical and which can be handled somewhat more
flexibly.
For research projects planned on or close to Indigenous lands, it is critical to
inquire early in the planning process about local procedures and ethical guidelines.
Generally, site administrators would be the first points of contact and should be
aware of how to communicate the research objectives to the Indigenous communities and judge the level of involvement required (e.g., between short- and long-term
studies). However, it is important for researchers to initiate this inquiry and to seek
additional guidance if needed. For both short- and long-term projects, familiarizing
oneself with ethical frameworks for research with Indigenous communities and/or
on Indigenous lands (e.g., Claw et al. 2018) is good practice.
15.2.3 Planning Data Collection
Remote sensing of plant biodiversity typically includes the comparison of ecological or spectral data collected on the ground with remotely sensed images, often
through a model that considers scale effects. Two aspects are critical to data collection: (i) sampling representative areas and/or individual plants that can be aligned
with the imagery and (ii) sampling at high spatial accuracy and a level of precision
that matches the sensor. With these two points in mind, the following sections discuss area selection (Sect. 15.2.3.1); value ranges (Sect. 15.2.3.2), which are important for model representativeness and thus also of interest for the validation of
physical models; and sampling design (Sect. 15.2.3.3), with a particular focus on
empirical-statistical analyses. Data collection is typically formalized in a sampling
plan. A sampling plan describes data acquisition, recording, and processing
(Domburg et al. 1997) and includes the first elements of the data life cycle (see Sect.
15.1.1). Consequently, the plan will likely include decisions about the area selection
and variables measured, logistical constraints, sampling and analysis methods, sampling design, sampling protocols, estimation of measurement accuracy/precision,
and operational costs.
Sampling is a method of selection from a larger population carried out to reduce
the time and cost of examining the entire population (Justice and Townshend 1981).
In the case of sampling plant biodiversity at a particular field site, we are generally
selecting individual plants to represent local populations of a set of species that
capture the range of functional and phylogenetic variation in a site or represent the
dominant species. Data collection balances accuracy and representativeness against
time and budget. Two questions are central to planning data collection: (i) Which
population(s) is (are) best suited to answer the specific research question(s)? and (ii)
Is (are) the population(s) adequately represented by the sampling scheme? During
the early planning phase, it is important to get a sense of which environmental factors cause variation in the samples to be collected and variables to be measured
(Johannsen and Daughtry 2009) and to choose research sites accordingly. This
A. K. Schweiger
appropriately. Often, it is not until details are questioned that it becomes clear which
aspects of a research plan are critical and which can be handled somewhat more
flexibly.
For research projects planned on or close to Indigenous lands, it is critical to
inquire early in the planning process about local procedures and ethical guidelines.
Generally, site administrators would be the first points of contact and should be
aware of how to communicate the research objectives to the Indigenous communities and judge the level of involvement required (e.g., between short- and long-term
studies). However, it is important for researchers to initiate this inquiry and to seek
additional guidance if needed. For both short- and long-term projects, familiarizing
oneself with ethical frameworks for research with Indigenous communities and/or
on Indigenous lands (e.g., Claw et al. 2018) is good practice.
15.2.3 Planning Data Collection
Remote sensing of plant biodiversity typically includes the comparison of ecological or spectral data collected on the ground with remotely sensed images, often
through a model that considers scale effects. Two aspects are critical to data collection: (i) sampling representative areas and/or individual plants that can be aligned
with the imagery and (ii) sampling at high spatial accuracy and a level of precision
that matches the sensor. With these two points in mind, the following sections discuss area selection (Sect. 15.2.3.1); value ranges (Sect. 15.2.3.2), which are important for model representativeness and thus also of interest for the validation of
physical models; and sampling design (Sect. 15.2.3.3), with a particular focus on
empirical-statistical analyses. Data collection is typically formalized in a sampling
plan. A sampling plan describes data acquisition, recording, and processing
(Domburg et al. 1997) and includes the first elements of the data life cycle (see Sect.
15.1.1). Consequently, the plan will likely include decisions about the area selection
and variables measured, logistical constraints, sampling and analysis methods, sampling design, sampling protocols, estimation of measurement accuracy/precision,
and operational costs.
Sampling is a method of selection from a larger population carried out to reduce
the time and cost of examining the entire population (Justice and Townshend 1981).
In the case of sampling plant biodiversity at a particular field site, we are generally
selecting individual plants to represent local populations of a set of species that
capture the range of functional and phylogenetic variation in a site or represent the
dominant species. Data collection balances accuracy and representativeness against
time and budget. Two questions are central to planning data collection: (i) Which
population(s) is (are) best suited to answer the specific research question(s)? and (ii)
Is (are) the population(s) adequately represented by the sampling scheme? During
the early planning phase, it is important to get a sense of which environmental factors cause variation in the samples to be collected and variables to be measured
(Johannsen and Daughtry 2009) and to choose research sites accordingly. This
A. K. Schweiger