Читать книгу Fieldwork Ready - Sara E. Vero - Страница 11

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.