Calibrating ecological indicator values and niche width for a Mediterranean flora
Résumé
Bioindication of ecological variables such as humidity, temperature or pH by ecological indicator
values of plants is a powerful tool for research in plant ecology, e.g. to detect early vegetation
changes. Here, we provide a data set of ecological indicator values including niche width for an
entire regional flora. We used an extensive data-base with floristic relevés from Southern France
to recalibrate indicator values for light (L), temperature (T), continentality (K), air humidity (A),
soil moisture (F), pH (R), productivity (N), soil texture (G), soil organic matter content (O) and
salinity (S). Values were recalibrated using average values from co-occurring plants, enabling to
develop indicator values for species not yet evaluated previously. Recalibrated values are on a
continuous scale and we add standard deviation, median, first and third quartile for each indicator
value. Linear regression of average indicator values against measured factors showed higher
correlation with recalibrated values compared to original indicator values for temperature, pH and
nitrogen, and comparable R 2 for moisture. Individual indicator systems performed better than a
combination and applying different weighting procedures demonstrated the usefulness of inverse
variance. We further illustrate graphically how recalibrated values and niche width increase
ecological knowledge on plants.
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