Improving estimates of environmental change using multilevel regression models of Ellenberg indicator values.

ABSTRACT: Ellenberg indicator values (EIVs) are a widely used metric in plant ecology comprising a semi-quantitative description of species' ecological requirements. Typically, point estimates of mean EIV scores are compared over space or time to infer differences in the environmental conditions structuring plant communities-particularly in resurvey studies where no historical environmental data are available. However, the use of point estimates as a basis for inference does not take into account variance among species EIVs within sampled plots and gives equal weighting to means calculated from plots with differing numbers of species. Traditional methods are also vulnerable to inaccurate estimates where only incomplete species lists are available.We present a set of multilevel (hierarchical) models-

SUBMITTER: Carroll T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6202714 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature