Quantitative and spatial problems in vegetation survey
Quantitative and spatial problems in vegetation survey
In this thesis a series of seven papers are presented. The -first five, which form the main body of the thesis, examine from a theoretical and empirical viewpoint some of the problems which arise in sampling for vegetation survey. These are followed by two fairly short additional communications which deal with certain specific analytical considerations which played a particularly important role in the earlier empirical studies.The overall approach adopted in the five sampling studies leans heavily on the use of numerical structuring and comparison techniques, which are employed to explore the properties and behaviour of different test data obtained for the most part from actual field situations. The first three papers deal exclusively with quantitative recording problems, and examine the numerical and ecological behaviour of a number of different measures of the abundance of different species and their relationship with qualitative (presence absence) floristic data. The two remaining sampling studies are devoted to spatial sampling problems: some of the ecologically important aspects of different sample layouts are explored and, in addition to comparing a number of well known sampling strategies, a new more flexible model for vegetation survey work is examined. In the final section on specific analytical problems, both the strategy and comparative advantages of the new polythetic-divisive structuring technique employed in most of the foregoing empirical studies are outlined, followed by a theoretical resume of the general role of numerical classification in the analysis of vegetation/environment relationships.The results obtained from the empirical studies point to the critical role of sampling considerations in vegetation survey work, and indicate quite clearly the importance of the actual numerical form of the data in the overall ecological picture which emerges from subsequent structuring. From the often markedly contrasted behaviour of data resulting from different sampling techniques a number of general guidelines are suggested and recommendations made relating to the choices to be made in the quantitative recording and spatial sampling of vegetation.
University of Southampton
Smartt, Pamela Fiona Maria
1977
Smartt, Pamela Fiona Maria
Smartt, Pamela Fiona Maria
(1977)
Quantitative and spatial problems in vegetation survey.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
In this thesis a series of seven papers are presented. The -first five, which form the main body of the thesis, examine from a theoretical and empirical viewpoint some of the problems which arise in sampling for vegetation survey. These are followed by two fairly short additional communications which deal with certain specific analytical considerations which played a particularly important role in the earlier empirical studies.The overall approach adopted in the five sampling studies leans heavily on the use of numerical structuring and comparison techniques, which are employed to explore the properties and behaviour of different test data obtained for the most part from actual field situations. The first three papers deal exclusively with quantitative recording problems, and examine the numerical and ecological behaviour of a number of different measures of the abundance of different species and their relationship with qualitative (presence absence) floristic data. The two remaining sampling studies are devoted to spatial sampling problems: some of the ecologically important aspects of different sample layouts are explored and, in addition to comparing a number of well known sampling strategies, a new more flexible model for vegetation survey work is examined. In the final section on specific analytical problems, both the strategy and comparative advantages of the new polythetic-divisive structuring technique employed in most of the foregoing empirical studies are outlined, followed by a theoretical resume of the general role of numerical classification in the analysis of vegetation/environment relationships.The results obtained from the empirical studies point to the critical role of sampling considerations in vegetation survey work, and indicate quite clearly the importance of the actual numerical form of the data in the overall ecological picture which emerges from subsequent structuring. From the often markedly contrasted behaviour of data resulting from different sampling techniques a number of general guidelines are suggested and recommendations made relating to the choices to be made in the quantitative recording and spatial sampling of vegetation.
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Published date: 1977
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Local EPrints ID: 458615
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/458615
PURE UUID: f6d7bacc-1d7a-4eef-931e-9110aabf1e2c
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 16:52
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 16:52
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Author:
Pamela Fiona Maria Smartt
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