Premium
Determination of plant species cover by means of image analysis
Author(s) -
Dietz Hansjörg,
Steinlein Thomas
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.2307/3236426
Subject(s) - quadrat , herbaceous plant , dominance (genetics) , vegetation (pathology) , plant cover , plant community , vegetation cover , cover (algebra) , ecology , plant species , remote sensing , geography , forestry , species richness , biology , grazing , shrub , engineering , medicine , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , pathology , gene
. A method is described for the determination of plant species cover in herbaceous plant communities by means of image analysis. It is a computerized extension of the quadrat‐charting method. The method was tested with four different computer systems for three different vegetation types, a shady lawn, a pioneer vegetation and a forest floor. We compared the results with vertical point‐intercept analyses of the same stands. Image analysis revealed a high accuracy of the method ranging from < ± 1 to about ± 2% cover depending on the dominance of the species being analysed. The method is particularly suitable for the analysis of low herbaceous or unsaturated vegetation, dominance stands of broad‐leaved plant species and for the analysis of cover changes in permanent plots.