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Soil health sampling approaches will vary considerably depending upon the evaluator’s goals which may range from a qualitative understanding of near‐surface soil conditions at a single point in time to detailed analytical characterizations of a suite of soil properties across broad landscapes to evaluate long‐term change. Whether a land manager, consultant, conservationist, or scientist, each evaluator will need to balance the desire for useful information about a soil’s status with the investment of time and resources to obtain that information (Dick et al., 1996).

Regardless of the chosen approach, a common requirement of all is to accurately assess the condition of a soil, which is an inherently complex medium varying across space and time. To address this complexity, evaluators must consider a series of questions dealing with location, timing, frequency, and sampling protocol that will affect the quality and usefulness of collected data.

Table 2.1 Synthesis of select resources addressing sampling considerations and field evaluations for soil health assessment.

Citation	Title	Topics addressed
Pellant et al. (2020)	Interpreting indicators of rangeland health	Review of protocols for assessing ecosystem function on rangelands and woodlands. Provides assessment and interpretive guidelines for soil‐associated measurements.
Ball et al. (2017)	Visual soil evaluation: A summary of some applications and potential developments for agriculture	Review of visual soil evaluation methods, with emphasis on the Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS). Addresses VESS applications to agricultural production and environmental quality.
USDA‐NRCS (2001)	Soil quality test kit guide	Review of assessments made with the Soil Quality Test Kit. Background and interpretive guidelines provided for each assessment.
Boone et al. (1999)	Soil sampling, preparation, archiving, and quality control	Review of protocols for soil sampling and laboratory processing. Guidelines developed for the U.S. Long‐Term Ecological Research Network.
Dick et al. (1996)	Standardized methods, sampling, and sample pretreatment	General guidelines for soil sampling, sample handling, and quality assurance/control.
Sarrantonio et al. (1996)	On‐farm assessment of soil quality and health	Review and application of measurements made by the Soil Quality Test Kit. Results from case studies provided.
Petersen and Calvin (1986)	Sampling (Methods of soil analysis)	Addresses statistical considerations of different sampling approaches.

This chapter provides general guidelines for collecting soil health samples and reviews select descriptive and analytical field evaluations. For more in‐depth discussion, readers should see Pellant et al. (2020), Ball et al. (2017), USDA‐NRCS (2001), Boone et al. (1999), Dick et al. (1996), Sarrantonio et al. (1996), or Petersen and Calvin (1986), synthesized in Table 2.1.