The spatial variation of pH in the mor layer of some coniferous forest stands in Northern Sweden

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Abstract
The spatial pH‐variation is shown to be slightly decreasing when comparing different coniferous stands in northern Sweden with a 200 m2 respectively a 2 m2 sample plot within a stand. The result indicates that the pH‐variation in the mor layer to a great extent is to be found in a plot 2. The hypothesis of Hesselman (1926) and Bergholm et al. (1985) that few samples should be enough for a reliable pH‐determination of a stand is questioned and critically discussed. The number of samples required to obtain a pH‐determination with an accepted accuracy is discussed. The spatial pH‐variation from the plots in the study suggests that approximately 12 samples are required to get a mean error of 2% at 95% confidence limits. But one should be aware of that, even with 12 samples, the difference between the highest and lowest value in a 2 m2 plot will be about 0.6 pH‐units.