Large vegetation databases and information systems: New instruments for ecological research, nature conservation, and policy making
- 22 August 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology
- Vol. 145 (sup1), 85-90
- https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2011.602744
Abstract
Almost a century ago, Josias Braun-Blanquet developed his phytosociological approach for vegetation field study. At that time, nobody could foresee what the impact of this methodology would be for vegetation science as well as for its application in nature conservation. Hundreds of thousands of so-called relevés (vegetation plot records) have been made, collected in field books, and many of them have been published afterward. Some 20 years ago, the software package Turboveg was developed for the input, storage, and handling of vegetation data. Since then, many national and regional vegetation databases have been compiled, providing the basis for national and international classification overviews and other scientific studies. It is estimated that currently there have been more than 4.2 million relevés made throughout Europe, including 1.8 million relevés already available in electronic dabatases and about 45% of these available in Turboveg format. The computerized vegetation data have been shown to offer new possibilities for ecological research (a new branch of study, called eco-informatics), of which a number of examples will be discussed. Furthermore, the electronic data form a fundament for the compilation of ecological information systems. As an example of these, the information system SynBioSys will be discussed as a new tool for nature conservation and policy making, including Natura 2000.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Use of the ecological information system SynBioSys for the analysis of large datasetsJournal of Vegetation Science, 2007
- The analysis of long-term changes in plant communities: case studies from the NetherlandsPhytocoenologia, 2002
- TURBOVEG, a comprehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science, 2001
- Reliability of Ellenberg indicator values for moisture, nitrogen and soil reaction: a comparison with field measurementsJournal of Vegetation Science, 2000
- Prediction of occurrence of vascular plants in deciduous forests of South Sweden by means of Ellenberg indicator valuesApplied Vegetation Science, 1998
- The Braun-Blanquet ApproachPublished by Springer Science and Business Media LLC ,1978