The theoretical basis of vegetation science

M P Austin

doi:10.1016/0169-5347(86)90045-5

The theoretical basis of vegetation science

Trends Ecol Evol. 1986 Dec;1(6):161-4. doi: 10.1016/0169-5347(86)90045-5.

Author

M P Austin¹

Affiliation

¹ Division of Wildlife and Rangelands, CSIRO, GPO Box 1666, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia; Visiting Fellow at the Department of Environmental Biology, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.

PMID: 21227805
DOI: 10.1016/0169-5347(86)90045-5

Abstract

There are two distinct research approaches to a theoretical framework for vegetation science. One involves critical analysis of observed patterns of multi-species community composition; the other entails experimental examination, at the population level, of processes in a multi-species context. Each approach is currently incomplete, but has questions in common with the other. Light, nitrogen and disturbance have been identified as critical factors determining vegetation composition by researchers using different theoretical frameworks. The increasing communication between vegetation analysts concerned with community pattern and experimental ecologists concerned with community processes may lead to a convergence in their theoretical concepts.