On definition and quantification of heterogeneity

General guidelines on the quantitative representation of heterogeneity in ecology are still lacking. Without a precise definition and sound quantification of heterogeneity, statements involving the concept will continue to be conclusing, and comparative studies and hypothesis testing will be ineffective. To solve this problem we propose an operational definition of ecological heterogeneity that facilitates quantification based on the data types of concern. We use two examples to demonstrate how our definition and quantification of spatial heterogeneity can he applied in practice

[1]  J. Reynolds,et al.  A Simulation Experiment to Quantify Spatial Heterogeneity in Categorical Maps , 1994 .

[2]  P. White,et al.  On the existence of ecological communities , 1994 .

[3]  N. Stenseth,et al.  Ecological mechanisms and landscape ecology , 1993 .

[4]  Pierre Dutilleul,et al.  Spatial Heterogeneity against Heteroscedasticity: An Ecological Paradigm versus a Statistical Concept , 1993 .

[5]  T. Allen,et al.  Toward a Unified Ecology. , 1993 .

[6]  David J. Mulla,et al.  Geostatistical Tools for Modeling and Interpreting Ecological Spatial Dependence , 1992 .

[7]  Bruce T. Milne,et al.  Spatial Aggregation and Neutral Models in Fractal Landscapes , 1992, The American Naturalist.

[8]  James R. Carr,et al.  On the practice of estimating fractal dimension , 1991 .

[9]  I. Swingland,et al.  Living in a patchy environment. , 1991 .

[10]  Monica G. Turner,et al.  Quantitative methods in landscape ecology : the analysis and interpretation of landscape heterogeneity , 1991 .

[11]  Robert V. O'Neill,et al.  Patternandscale: statistics for landscape ecology , 1991 .

[12]  J. Kolasa,et al.  Introduction: The Heterogeneity of Heterogeneity: A Glossary , 1991 .

[13]  Physical and Ecological Evaluation of Heterogeneity , 1991 .

[14]  N. B. Kotliar,et al.  Multiple scales of patchiness and patch structure: a hierarchical framework for the study of heterogeneity , 1990 .

[15]  M. Turner,et al.  LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY : The Effect of Pattern on Process 1 , 2002 .

[16]  C. Loehle.  Philosophical tools: potential contributions to ecology , 1988 .

[17]  Monica G. Turner,et al.  Landscape Heterogeneity and Disturbance , 2011, Ecological Studies.

[18]  D. Padilla,et al.  Ecological neighborhoods: scaling environmental patterns , 1987 .

[19]  I. Rodríguez‐Iturbe,et al.  Random Functions and Hydrology , 1984 .

[20]  P. Risser,et al.  Landscape ecology: Directions and approaches , 1984 .

[21]  P. A. Burrough,et al.  Multiscale sources of spatial variation in soil. I: The application of fractal concepts to nested levels of soil variation , 1983 .

[22]  P. A. Burrough,et al.  Multiscale sources of spatial variation in soil. II. A non‐Brownian fractal model and its application in soil survey , 1983 .

[23]  W. Romme,et al.  FIRE AND LANDSCAPE DIVERSITY IN SUBALPINE FORESTS OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK , 1982 .

[24]  Eric Renshaw,et al.  Spatial Processes: Models and Applications , 1981 .

[25]  E. J. S.,et al.  Quantitative Plant Ecology , 1934, Nature.