Feldinventare

Feldinventare, or field inventories, are structured on-site surveys conducted to collect standardized data about agricultural fields, natural vegetation, soils, and related attributes. They are designed to produce spatially explicit information at field or plot scale and to support monitoring, management, and research.

Purpose and scope: They document species composition, abundance, crop varieties, pest and disease incidence, soil properties (pH, texture, organic matter, nutrient status), yields, management practices, land-use history, and environmental conditions. They are used in agriculture, ecology, forestry, conservation, and environmental monitoring.

Methodology: Planning includes defining objectives, sampling design (cross-sectional or longitudinal, stratified random sampling, systematic transects or full censuses in small plots). Fieldwork uses predefined protocols, such as plant species presence/absence and abundance counts, phenological stages, biometric measurements, soil sampling, and yield assessments. Data are often georeferenced with GPS, stored in databases, linked to GIS layers, and documented with metadata. Quality control includes training, calibration, duplicate measurements, and data validation.

Applications and examples: They inform agricultural planning, biodiversity inventories, monitoring changes in land use or climate effects, help validate remote-sensing products, and support agri-environment schemes and crop biodiversity conservation.

Challenges and considerations: Field inventories are resource-intensive and require coordination, often needing taxonomic expertise for accurate identification. Standardized protocols are essential for comparability, and data interoperability and long-term storage are important for maintaining value over time.

See also: Biodiversity inventory, Field survey, Agricultural census, Soil survey.