ABSTRACT
Once the objectives of the monitoring programme have been defined, and the variables that are to be monitored have been decided upon, the next step is to consider the spatial and temporal scales at which these variables should be monitored. The spatial scale is comprised of two dimensions, the size of the area to be monitored (i.e. 1 m2 or 1000 km2) and the resolution at which this area is monitored (fine or course density of monitoring sites). The temporal scale also has two dimensions, the duration of monitoring (e.g. 6 hours or 20 years) and the frequency of sampling (the time interval between sampling, from seconds to months). The different combinations of these dimensions result in quite different data monitoring requirements (See Figures 5.1 and 5.2).
