Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS): Editors’ Choice of the first quarter of 2023

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The post provided by Jürgen Dengler (on behalf of all VCS Chief Editors)

Argentinian vega vegetation with motifs from the Editors’ Choice article by Casagranda and Izquierdo (2023).

Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) has completed the first quarter of the fourth volume, containing five articles (see list below).

Among these, the Chief Editors selected the contribution by Casagranda and Izquierdo (2023) as the Editors’ Choice article. This article is part of the ongoing Special Collection “Neotropical Vegetation” (see https://vegsciblog.org/2022/01/19/vcs-special-collection-on-neotropical-vegetation/). The authors studied the vegas of Argentina, a very peculiar wetland vegetation of the high elevations of the Andes and particularly the Altiplano, at elevations of 3300-5000 m a.s.l. The vegas are dominated by graminoids forming dense cushions, embedded in which various tiny forbs can live. The authors could distinguish two main types, which are dominated either by Juncaceae (Oxychloe andina, Distichia muscoides) or Cyperaceae (Eleocharis pseudoalbibracteata, Zameioscirpus atacamensis). Applying species distribution modelling (SDM) techniques, the authors were able to predict the occurrence of the two main vegas types well throughout the Argentinean Andes. This paper demonstrates the merit of transferring a statistical technique from a neighbouring field to vegetation typology.

Moreover, two articles were published whose associated open-access datasets likely will find many users among vegetation ecologists: Dengler et al. (2023) provided the most comprehensive ecological indicator value system to date, called EIVE 1.0 (see https://vegsciblog.org/2023/01/21/eive-1-0/). Loidi et al. (2023) provided the shape files to their new system of global biomes published in VCS by the end of last year (see https://vegsciblog.org/2023/01/15/climatic-definitions-of-terrestrial-biomes/).

Volume 4, 1st quarter

  • Dengler, J., Biurrun, I., Jansen, F. & Willner, W. 2023. Vegetation Classification and Survey in the third year. Vegetation Classification and Survey 4: 1–6. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.100394
  • Dengler, J., Jansen, F., Chusova, O., Hüllbusch, E., Nobis, M.P., Van Meerbeek, K., Axmanová, I., Bruun, H.H., Chytrý, M., Guarino, R., Karrer, G., Moeys, K., Raus, T., Steinbauer, M.J., Tichý, L., Tyler, T., Batsatsashvili, K., Bita-Nicolae, C., Didukh, Y., Diekmann, M., Englisch, T., Fernandez Pascua, E., Frank, D., Graf, U., Hájek, M., Jelaska, S.D., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Julve, P., Nakhutsrishvili, G., Ozinga, W.A., Ruprecht, E.-K., Šilc, U., Theurillat, J.-P., Gillet, F. 2023. Ecological Indicator Values for Europe (EIVE) 1.0. Vegetation Classification and Survey 4: 7–29. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.98324
  • Chakkour, S., Bergmeier, E., Meyer, S., Kassout, J., Kadiri, M. & Ater, M. 2023. Plant diversity in traditional agroecosystems of North Morocco. Vegetation Classification and Survey 4: 31–45. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.86024
  • Casagranda, E. & Izquierdo, A.E. 2023. Modeling the potential distribution of floristic assemblages of high Andean wetlands dominated by Juncaceae and Cyperaceae in the Argentine Puna. Vegetation Classification and Survey 4: 47–58. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.95779
  • Loidi, J., Navarro-Sánchez, G. & Vynokurov, D. 2023. A vector map of the world’s terrestrial biotic units: subbiomes, biomes, ecozones and domains. Vegetation Classification and Survey 4: 59–61. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.99167