Measuring plant diversity : Lessons from the field / [electronic resource]
by Thomas J. Stohlgren.
- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.
- e-book contains 390 pages
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.