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A Computer Programme Package for the Statistical Analysis of Spatial Point Processes in a Square
Author(s) -
Koen C.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
biometrical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.108
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-4036
pISSN - 0323-3847
DOI - 10.1002/bimj.4710330418
Subject(s) - randomness , spatial analysis , square (algebra) , point (geometry) , statistics , autocorrelation , mathematics , point process , data point , computer science , geometry
A computer programme for the statistical analysis of point data in a square is described. Several tests for randomness of the distribution of points are possible. The most comprehensive of these are comparisons of the empirical distributions of the inter‐point and closest neighbour distances with their respective expected distributions under complete randomness, and tests based on Ripley' L function; using these, significant aggregation or regularity can be identified. It is also possible to calculate statistics of properties (“attributes”) associated with each spatial point, as well as to compare statistics for sub‐areas of the experimental square. Several measures of spatial autocorrelation are available, amongst them correlograms and variograms. The programme can also find the tesselation of the study area and correlate tile properties with the point attributes. The procedures are illustrated by references to the spatial distribution and mound heights of Trinevitermes trinervoides on a study area in South Africa. Although the programme was developed specifically for application in entomology, it could be used to analyse data from many other disciplines.