Species indicator values as an important tool in applied plant ecology – a review

Abstract Species indicator values, especially those defined by Ellenberg, have been used widely in applied plant ecology, forestry and agriculture. In spite of being criticised by many, there is a growing interest in using them also outside central Europe in order to analyse trends of change in the vegetation and their underlying environmental variables. Various aspects of indicator values are reviewed: their main features, the most important applications (notably the use of weighted site averages), problems and pitfalls of indicator analyses, the relationship between weighted site averages and measurements as well as their extension to other regions. Some aspects are illustrated using data sets of forest plots from S Sweden. Provided that the limitations of indicator values are recognised, these have a high reliability and can complement or, in some cases, replace measurements to determine the values of environmental variables and to monitor their change. Zeigerwerte, besonders die von Ellenberg vorgeschlagenen Zahlen, haben in der Pflanzenokologie, Forst- und Landwirtschaft eine breite Verwendung gefunden. Obwohl viele Wissenschaftler Zeigerwerten kritisch gegenuberstehen, werden sie in zunehmendem Mase auch auserhalb Mitteleuropas benutzt, um Veranderungen der Vegetation und der sie bedingenden Umweltfaktoren zu analysieren. Verschiedene Aspekte von Zeigerwerten werden erortert: ihre wichtigsten Merkmale und Anwendungen (insbesondere die Verwendung mittlerer Zeigerwerte), Probleme und Fehlerquellen, die Beziehung zwischen mittleren Zeigerwerten und Messwerten sowie die Uberprufung und Kalibrierung in Regionen auserhalb Mitteleuropas. Einige dieser Aspekte werden anhand von Datensatzen von Waldern Sud-Schwedens illustriert. Zeigerwerte haben, wenn ihre Begrenzungen berucksichtigt werden, eine hohe Zuverlassigkeit und konnen im Hinblick auf das Monitoring von Umweltveranderungen Messungen erganzen oder in manchen Fallen sogar ersetzen.

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