Classification of the high-rank syntaxa of the Central and Eastern Balkan dry grasslands with a new hierarchical expert system approach

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14310%2F24%3A00137918" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14310/24:00137918 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/avsc.12779" target="_blank" >https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/avsc.12779</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12779" target="_blank" >10.1111/avsc.12779</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Classification of the high-rank syntaxa of the Central and Eastern Balkan dry grasslands with a new hierarchical expert system approach

Original language description

Aims: Developing a hierarchical classification system for classes, orders and alliances of the diverse dry grasslands of the Central and Eastern Balkan Peninsula and translating this into an electronic expert system (ES) for the automatic assignment of plots. LocationSerbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and northern Greece. Methods: We extracted 5734 plots from the Balkan Dry Grassland Database corresponding to eight classes of dry grasslands reported from the region, using the EuroVegChecklist ES. This data set and later the plots within each derived subunit were subjected to a new numerical approach: starting with an initial partitioning (expert-interpreted TWINSPAN classification), diagnostic species were determined based on their phi-values for the target vegetation type and the differences in phi-values to the next similar types. These diagnostic species were fed into an ES to create a new partitioning, a procedure which was iterated until diagnostic species and species of the ES converged. Then the same approach was applied within each of the derived units to define the units of the next-lower level. Results: The iterative cluster optimisation (ICO) converged in all cases. The resulting hierarchical expert system (HES) classified 95% of all plots to alliances. We distinguished four classes with eight orders and 12 alliances: (1) Tuberarietea guttatae (Romuleion); (2) Stipo-Brachypodietea distachyi (Clinopodio alpini-Thymion striati); (3) Festuco-Brometea with Brachypodietalia pinnati (Chrysopogono-Danthonion calycinae and Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati), Festucetalia valesiacae (Festucion valesiacae), an unnamed order of rocky steppes (with Pimpinello-Thymion zygioidis) and Koelerietalia splendentis (Centaureo-Bromion fibrosi, Saturejion montanae and Diantho haematocalycis-Festucion hirtovaginatae); (four) Koelerio-Corynephoretea with Sedo acris-Festucetalia (Festucion vaginatae) and Trifolio arvensis-Festucetalia ovinae (Armerio rumelicae-Potentillion and Minuartio montanae-Poion molinerii all. nov.). Conclusion: sWe created a unified hierarchical classification with an electronic ES using diagnostic species defined by phi-values. Our new approach (ICO-HES: iterative cluster optimisation for hierarchical expert systems) allows dividing large data sets into meaningful units at several hierarchical levels, and thus has high potential for complex classifications. Importantly, it overcomes the divide between ES species and diagnostic species and re-unites them into one concept.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10611 - Plant sciences, botany

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Applied Vegetation Science

ISSN

1402-2001

e-ISSN

1654-109X

Volume of the periodical

27

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

29

Pages from-to

1-29

UT code for WoS article

001229182100001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85195106759