STATISTICAL ISSUES FOR MONITORING ECOLOGICAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE UNITED STATES

摘要

The United States funds a number of national monitoring programs to measure the status and trends of ecological and natural resource. Each of these programs ahs a uniqu focus; the scientific objectives are different as are the sample designs. However, individuals and committees, all well aware of the cost of the cost of ecological monitoring, have caled for more effective monitoring programs. The objective of this paper is to summarize existing program's statistical designs and discuss potential alternatives for improvment in national monitoring. Can we improve the current situation by providing an overall framewrok for the design or analysis of data from these disparate surveys? First, the paper summarizes the objective of these surveys, compares and contrasts their survey designs as currently implemented, and determines what variables they collect.