212-1 A Survey of Current Practices in Uncertainty Analysis in Ecosystem Ecology.
See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Forest, Range and Wildland Soils
See more from this Session: Symposium--Quantifying Uncertainty in Forest Ecosystem Studies
Abstract:
We obtained responses from 77 researchers representing 49 research sites around the world. Sampling error was the most important source of uncertainty in calculations of biomass and soil pools, according to respondents in these fields, and this was the source they said they most often reported. Uncertainty in the chemical analysis of precipitation and stream water was the source most commonly reported by hydrologists, although this was one of the least important sources of uncertainty to calculations of hydrologic flux. Measurement error in watershed area, model error in rain gage interpolation, and the sampling error in estimates of soil coarse fraction ranked among the least reported relative to their perceived importance. Some sources of uncertainty are easy to quantify and should be routinely reported (e.g., rain gage interpolation), whereas others lack standard methods and may require establishment of best methods (e.g., watershed area, biomass model selection).
See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Forest, Range and Wildland Soils
See more from this Session: Symposium--Quantifying Uncertainty in Forest Ecosystem Studies