With the feet on the ground: incorporating spatial patterns in multivariate analyses

Abstract

With  the  feet  on  the  ground:  incorporating  spatial  patterns  in  multivariate  analyses.  Similarly  to  individual  species,  plant communities  also  show  clear  spatial  patterns.  However,  plant  communities  are  not  discrete  entities  but  an  assembly  of  elements; consequently, different methods are needed to describe the environmental factors that determine spatial patterns in plant communities. In this paper we show two types of techniques in order to deal with multivariate data analysis: canonical analysis and Mantel analysis.