There is a high degree of spatial variability in forest soil properties; detecting temporal change is difficult. Establishing a long-term monitoring study will greatly aid future efforts to discern changes in elemental pools such as Ca and Hg. To this end, five 50 x 50 m plots were located in areas under the purview of the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative, three on Mt. Mansfield in north-central Vermont and two in the Lye Brook Wilderness Area in southwestern Vermont. Each plot contains 100 5 x 5 m subplots with sampling dates assigned randomly (10 per date). The initial sampling of these plots took place in the summer of 2002 and plans are to resample after 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 150 and 200 years. Small pits were dug in the center of each subplot and the soils were sampled by horizon. We are archiving portions of the initial samples for later comparisons and also analyzing them at three different laboratories to determine baseline values. We will present preliminary data comparing the concentration and variability of Hg in the Oa horizons and exchangeable Ca in the B horizons. Minimum levels of detectable change will be presented and discussed in relation to study design. These plots will provide a statistically robust method for determining long-term trends in forest soil chemistry and will enable us to definitively establish whether or not change has occurred.