Constrained Year Subsampling

Sample Years Under Temporal Constraints

Usage

sample_years_with_condition(
  years,
  min_n = 2,
  max_n = 15,
  max_gap = 5,
  max_tries = 100
)

Arguments

years

A numeric vector of years to sample from.

min_n

Minimum number of years required in the sampled subset.

max_n

Maximum number of years allowed in the sampled subset.

max_gap

Maximum allowable gap (in years) between consecutive selected years.

max_tries

Maximum number of attempts before returning NULL if no valid combination is found.

Value

A sorted numeric vector of sampled years satisfying the constraints, or NULL if no valid combination is found after max_tries attempts.

Details

Randomly selects a subset of years while enforcing constraints on minimum sample size, maximum sample size, and the maximum allowable temporal gap between consecutive selected years. Useful for generating realistic temporal sampling schemes in synthetic or constrained ecological datasets.

The function:

• Ensures sampled years fall within the specified range of sample sizes

• Enforces a temporal continuity rule (diff(years) <= max_gap)

• Randomly tries up to max_tries combinations before giving up

Author

Julie