An information-theoretical measure of ß-diversity

Author: Ricotta Carlo   Avena Giancarlo  

Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

ISSN: 1126-3504

Source: Plant Biosystems, Vol.137, Iss.1, 2003-01, pp. : 57-61

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Abstract

A measure of ß-diversity based on the distribution of Kullback's information-theoretical divergence of single plots from the pooled sample is proposed for data on species relative abundances. Unlike other indices explicitly developed to summarise plot-to-plot variability along an environmental gradient, the proposed measure provides meaningful estimates of ß-diversity independently of the presence of coenoclines. In the present study, a classical artificial data set is used to illustrate its application. Further, some analogies between the proposed measure and Whittaker's index of ß-diversity are discussed.