How to Create a Soil Sampling Using Regular Points

Learn how to generate a Regular Point Grid for usage in soil sampling

The soil sampling process can be performed with greater quality and efficiency when it is done using georeferenced points (with coordinates), rather than randomly across the entire area. By using regular points, sampling is done at points that are far enough apart from each other, thus avoiding incorrect data in the analysis.

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01 - Creating a new sample

To generate your Regular Point Grid, click on the New Map tab at the top of FieldScan:

In the window that opens, select the Sample option:

Now, let's fill out the form that will appear on the right side of the platform:

In Title (1), enter a name of your choice, using text, numbers, or both.

For InField users, our mobile app, we recommend including the name of the desired field in the title. This will help you quickly locate the point grid you created on your smartphone.

Next, in (2), there are three options for New Sampling:

• Create Sampling: FieldScan will generate a new point grid based on the configuration instructions you set.
• Duplicate Existing Sampling: You can use an already registered point grid from the platform (this is useful if you want to create a historical series of analyses).
• Import Point Files: You can upload a SHAPEFILE from your computer containing a previously created point grid into FieldScan.

In Sampling Type (3), select Soil.

In Distribution Type (4), select Regular Points.

In Farm (5), select a farm you have already registered on the platform, and choose the Field (6) where you want to create a point grid. It is possible to create grids for multiple fields at once, as long as they are registered within the same farm.

Finally, click Next (7).

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02 - Grid Parameters and Base Map

Regular sampling is based on the distribution of points with equal distances between each other. To define these, choose how many Hectares per Point (1) you want. This will define both the number of sampling points and the distance between them.

You can also set the starting number for your sampling points. In other words, you can generate points labeled from number 1 up to the total number of points you've defined, or you can choose the starting number for the labeling. Enter or use the arrows to select the Number of Points per Hectare (1) and the Starting Number (3), then click Apply (2):

 

Once the number of points per hectare and the labeling are set, the next step is customizing the point grid. But before that, let's apply a base map to assist with this process.

A base map can be an image of vegetation index maps such as NDVI, NDRE, or VARI (from satellites or drones), as well as zones and soil analysis interpolations. In the center of the screen, there is a box named Map Layers. Select one of the available maps to use as a base.

This type of map allows you to view your field and understand where the areas of interest are, or zones that won't be sampled. Therefore, it's important to choose the correct base map. To do this, you can use the Filter Maps (4) box to access the correct base map and the specific date you want. For more specific results, you can, for example, choose which nutrient to display on the interpolation base map, using the Visualization (5) box:

Maps that match the parameters set in the Filter Maps (4) will appear in the Map Layers (6) box.

Once you've defined the number of points per hectare, click Next (7), and FieldScan will generate a standard point grid.

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03 - Modifying the Point Grid

The base map is also ideal for providing information about the health and general condition of your field, allowing you to modify the grid by moving points to areas of interest (where points were not originally generated), or removing sampling points from areas where the results would not be relevant, such as: drains, proximity to fences, field boundaries, troughs, areas with a history of good nutrition, limestone application zones, etc.

Additionally, you can modify the following:

• The position of the entire point grid.
• Rotate the point grid.

To move a sampling point, click on the point and drag it to the new desired location:

To delete a point, click on it once and then click the trash bin icon in the top right corner. To add a point, click on the inverted droplet icon, select a location on the map, and click once to add the point. You can add multiple points at once. Once you've finished adding points, click the checkmark ✅ icon to confirm the addition:

To move the entire point grid, click on the move icon and drag the mouse to reposition all the points in the grid:

To rotate the point grid, click on the rotate icon and move the mouse to rotate the grid:

Once you have completed all modifications, click Next.

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04 - Sampling Depth

Sampling points are defined by their label and also by the depths at which sampling will be performed. Typically, samples are taken from 0 to 20 cm and from 20 to 40 cm. Let’s see how to define the depth ranges for your points:

In Field 1, you can define the minimum and maximum depth range for sampling, as well as the percentage of points you want to sample within this depth range. For example, if you want 100% of your points sampled at a depth of 0 to 20 cm, enter "0" in the first box, "20" in the second, and "100" in the last box. You can type the values in the boxes or use the arrows to adjust them:

You can add more depth ranges by clicking on New Depth:

Using the same example, now let’s say you want 100% of the points sampled from 0 to 20 cm, but you also want 20% of the points sampled from 20 to 40 cm. For this, fill in the second box with "20" in the first field, "40" in the second field, and "20" in the last field. The values can be typed directly or adjusted using the arrows:

 

By default, depths will be added from the first point to the last point defined by the percentage. However, you can customize which points will have which depths. To do this, click on a point, and a box will appear above the point showing which depths are assigned to it. Follow these instructions based on your intentions:

• To remove a depth, click the trash bin icon next to it.
• To add a depth, click the Select Depth button below. A dialog box will open with other available depth ranges:

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05 - Changing the Direction of ID Distribution

Repositioning and rotating the point grid is ideal for aligning sampling points with the planting or sowing direction. To make your sampling even more precise, you can also change the direction in which the point IDs are numbered.

To change the ID numbering direction, click the direction icon in the upper-right corner of the map view. Draw a line near the point where you want the numbering to start, and in the direction you want the numbers to follow. Right-click to finish drawing the line (the numbering will be generated in the opposite direction of the line you traced).

Finally, click the ✅ button to confirm and save the changes.

Once all customizations—distance, number, position, labels, and depths of the points—are complete, click Submit to finalize and consolidate the sampling.

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06 - Accessing Your Sampling

All set! Your regular point grid is ready. To access it, go to the main page of FieldScan and click on the Sampling tab:

Use the Search Bar to find a specific sampling or browse through the list below:

Click the three dots next to a sampling to access the following options:

• Edit this sample
• Download the shapefile of georeferenced points
• Generate and download Sampling Labels
• Delete this sample

If you use our inField app, don’t worry—your samplings are automatically synchronized and available there:

If you have any questions or encounter issues during the process, reach out to me via chat, and I'll be ready to help you resolve them!

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See you next time!