Optimal soil sampling design based on the maxvol algorithm

Anna Petrovskaia, Gleb V. Ryzhakov, Ivan V. Oseledets

Abstract: Spatial soil sampling is an integral part of a soil survey aimed at creating a soil map. We propose considering the soil sampling procedure as a task of optimal design. In practical terms, optimal experiments can reduce experimentation costs, as they allow the researcher to obtain one optimal set of points. We present a sampling design, based on the fundamental idea of selecting sample locations by performing an optimal design method called the maxvol algorithm. It is shown that the maxvol-base algorithm has a high potential for practical usage. Our method outperforms popular sampling methods in soil taxa prediction based on topographical features of the site and deals with massive agricultural datasets in a reasonable time.