Variance estimation in the EMAP strategy for sampling discrete ecological resources

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is designed to describe status, trends and spatial pattern of indicators of condition of the nation's ecological resources. The proposed sampling design for EMAP is based on a triangular systematic grid and employs both variable probability and double sampling. The Horvitz-Thompson estimator provides the foundation of the design-based estimation strategy used in EMAP. However, special features of EMAP designed to accommodate the complexity of sampling environmental resources on a national scale require modifications of standard variance estimation procedures as well as development of new techniques. An overview of variance estimation methods proposed for application to EMAP's sampling strategy for discrete resources is presented.