Pragmatic soil survey design using flexible Latin hypercube sampling

We review and give a practical example of Latin hypercube sampling in soil science using an approach we call flexible Latin hypercube sampling. Recent studies of soil properties in large and remote regions have highlighted problems with the conventional Latin hypercube sampling approach. It is often impractical to travel far from tracks and roads to collect samples, and survey planning should recognise this fact. Another problem is how to handle target sites that, for whatever reason, are impractical to sample – should one just move on to the next target or choose something in the locality that is accessible? Working within a Latin hypercube that spans the covariate space, selecting an alternative site is hard to do optimally. We propose flexible Latin hypercube sampling as a means of avoiding these problems. Flexible Latin hypercube sampling involves simulated annealing for optimally selecting accessible sites from a region. The sampling protocol also produces an ordered list of alternative sites close to the primary target site, should the primary target site prove inaccessible. We highlight the use of this design through a broad-scale sampling exercise in the Burdekin catchment of north Queensland, Australia. We highlight the robustness of our design through a simulation study where up to 50% of target sites may be inaccessible. •Sampling design for large spatial regions that takes prior information into account.•Pragmatic implementation that works when access to sites cannot be guaranteed.•A robust method for objectively and easily selecting alternative sites in the field.