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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Name: Vero, Sara, author.
Title: Fieldwork ready : an introductory guide to field research for agriculture, environment, and soil scientists / Sara E. Vero.
Description: Hoboken, NJ, USA : Wiley‐ACSESS, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020028489 | ISBN 9780891183754 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Environmental sciences–Research–Methodology. | Agriculture–Research–Methodology. | Fieldwork (Educational method)
Classification: LCC GE70 .V47 2020 | DDC 550.72/3–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020028489
doi:10.2134/fieldwork
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © Jaclyn Fiola
With gratitude to all those friends who have dug through the earth, marched across grasslands or waded upstream with me. What a wonderful adventure.
To the reader; my grandfather Paddy Vero said that “An ounce of help is worth a ton of pity.” I have been the happy beneficiary of many kind helpers. I hope this book will give you at least that ounce of help when you need it.
“Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might”
Ecclesiastes 9.10
List of Photo Contributors
Jaclyn Fiola
Robert Collins
Jesse Nippert
Nicolette Roach
Krista Keels
Karen Vaughan
Katie O’Reilly
Julie Campbell
Rachel Murphy
Derek Gibson
Brandon Forsythe
Lauren McPhillips
Sian Green
Andrea Brookfield
Sophie Sherriff
Noemi Nazsarkowski
David Jaramillo
Giulia Bondi
Teagasc (Raymond Kelly – Head of Research Support)
Preface
Field‐based research is a cornerstone of agronomic and environmental science, yielding information that helps us produce crops efficiently, manage resources, and steward the environment. For students and researchers, it allows insights into the real world, which cannot be achieved in the classroom or library alone. Fieldwork is, for many, an exciting and engaging part of their work and studies. However, it brings unique challenges pertaining to experimental design, planning, safety, and team management, in addition to the scientific techniques being employed. The field researcher needs to be well‐rounded and adaptable; able to deal with the unexpected and to improvise in response to challenges arising outside of the clean, controlled environment of the laboratory.
Fieldwork Ready is intended to help you to become an effective researcher, whether you are involved in agronomy, soil science, hydrology, geography, or any other field‐based study. This book includes advice on design, planning, and logistics, which are essential for all field researchers, and then discusses basic techniques related to environmental monitoring, and soil, water, plant, and wildlife research that any investigator should be familiar with. These are intended as a guide upon which you can and should build further skills. For those of you who are already experienced in the field, this book should help you think more deeply about how and why you do field research, and hopefully, to improve upon your skills and knowledge.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Danielle Lynch for her patient editing and Karen Brey for creating such wonderful illustrations. I am grateful to each of the reviewers for their intelligent and constructive advice, and for sharing their experience of the field. Special thanks to everyone who so generously donated their fieldwork photos; Vikram Baliga, Giulia Bondi, Andrea Brookfield, Julie Campbell, Bo Collins, Jaclyn Fiola, Brandon Forsythe, Derek Gibson, David Jaramillo, Krista Keels, Colum Kennedy, Juliette Marie, Lauren McPhillips, Rachel Murphy, Jesse Nippert, Katherine O’Reilly, Nikki Roach, Sophie Sherriff, and Karen Vaughan. It has been a pleasure to see your exciting work.
1 Introduction
This manual provides
