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What is an appropriate sampling design for wetlands to measure residual pesticides?

Our team is preparing to monitor legacy pesticide loads in a large, vegetated wetland. The system has distinct zones open water, reed beds, muddy banks each with different flow and organic matter. A simple random grid seems insufficient. How should we structure our sampling (e.g., stratified, systematic) to ensure our data is representative of the entire wetland's pesticide burden without requiring an impossible number of samples?

 

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By Yashaswini Singh Answered 3 years ago

I've designed many such monitoring campaigns. I strongly recommend a stratified random sampling approach. First, use a GIS layer to clearly stratify your wetland into homogenous units based on vegetation type, hydrology, and sediment character. Then, allocate your sampling effort proportionally (or based on suspected contamination) to each stratum. Within each zone, collect random cores or water samples. This is far more efficient and representative than a simple grid. Always couple water samples with sediment and possibly biota (like bivalves) from the same point to understand partitioning, which is critical for a complete risk picture.

 

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