Contents
Front Matter
Copyright Page
Dedication
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
PART I THE PAST AND PRESENT
Expand1 Introduction
View chapter
Expand2 History and Background, Baggage and Direction
View chapter
Expand3 A Framework for the Design of Plant Diversity Studies
View chapter
PART II AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO SAMPLING
Expand4 Single-Scale Sampling
View chapter
Expand5 Multiscale Sampling
View chapter
Expand6 Comparing Multiscale Sampling Designs: Taking an Experimental Approach
View chapter
Expand7 Case Study: Comparing Rangeland Vegetation Sampling Techniques
View chapter
PART III SCALING TO LANDSCAPES
Expand8 Case Study on Multiphase and Multiscale Sampling
View chapter
Expand9 Case Study: Designing a Monitoring Program for Assessing Patterns of Plant Diversity in Forests Nationwide
View chapter
Expand10 Case Study: Patterns of Plant Invasions in Forests and Grasslands
View chapter
Expand11 Case Study: Evaluating the Effects of Grazing and Soil Characteristics on Plant Diversity
View chapter
Expand12 Case Study: Assessments of Plant Diversity in Arid Landscapes
View chapter
PART IV MODELING PATTERNS OF PLANT DIVERSITY
Expand13 Nonspatial Statistical Modeling of Plant Diversity
View chapter
Expand14 Spatial Analysis and Modeling
View chapter
PART V MONITORING PLANT DIVERSITY
Expand15 Concepts for Assessing Temporal Changes in Plant Diversity
View chapter
Expand16 Case Study: Monitoring Shifts in Plant Diversity in Response to Climate Change
View chapter
PART VI RESEARCH NEEDS
Expand17 Case Study: Testing a Nested-Intensity Sampling Design
View chapter
Expand18 Quantifying Trends in Space and Time
View chapter
End Matter
Glossary
References
Index

Abstract
This book provides sampling designs for measuring species richness and diversity, patterns of plant diversity, species-environment relationships, and species distributions in complex landscapes and natural ecosystems. Part I introduces the problem: plant diversity studies are difficult to design and conduct in part because of the history and baggage associated with the evolution of plant ecology into a quantitative science. Issues of scale, resolution, and extent must be effectively commandeered. Part II implores the practitioner to take an experimental approach to sampling plant diversity with a clear understanding of advantages and disadvantages of single-scale and multi-scale techniques. Part III focuses on scaling plant diversity measurements from plots to landscapes. Part IV provides a brief introduction to modeling plant diversity in relation to environmental factors. Examples of common non-spatial (correlative) and spatial analyses are explained. Part V introduces the concept of measuring temporal changes in plant diversity at landscape scales and follows with a case study designed to collect the necessary baseline data to monitor plant diversity. Part VI discusses research needed to understand better changes in plant diversity in space and time. Specific objectives are to: (1) provide a basic understanding of the history of design considerations in past and modern vegetation field studies; (2) demonstrate with real-life case studies the use of single-scale and multi-scale sampling methods, and statistical and spatial analysis techniques that may be particularly helpful in measuring plant diversity at landscape scales; and (3) address several sampling questions typically asked by students and field ecologists.