Progress in vegetation science: Trends over the past three decades and new horizons

Aligning quantitative vegetation classification and landscape scale mapping: updating the classification approach of the Regional Ecosystem classification system used in Queensland

“…With the advent of computers, statistical and mathematical models have become established techniques for grouping plots with high similarity to form clusters representing vegetation types (Kent 2012;Goodall 2014). There has been a multiplicity of these techniques developed (Peet and Roberts 2013;Goodall 2014;Chytrý et al 2019) and the choice can influence the vegetation types identified (Wiser and De Cáceres 2013;De Cáceres et al 2018). The techniques most commonly used are either agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) or nonhierarchical partitioning (Kent 2012;De Cáceres et al 2018;Addicott 2020).…”

IAVS Annual Reports (July 2019 - June 2020)

“…Ideas submitted by participants included a myriad of topics not only directly related to the impacts of global changes, but also dealing with conceptual, methodological and learning tools expected to help advance the field in the near future. While some ideas related to novel technologies had already been identified in a recent Editorial appeared in the Journal of Vegetation Science (Chytrý et al 2019), we tried to go deeper and discussed the specifics of how these methodological tools could advance vegetation science and what were the challenges ahead. We also recognized gaps in the field and new opportunities that will be necessary to better understand vegetation dynamics in a changing world, such as integrating different approaches for assessing long-term trends and temporal stability, or incorporating the study of novel ecosystems.…”

Applied vegetation science addresses emerging global issues

“…Although vegetation science was for a long time a discipline with a strong descriptive focus, it has advanced in both theoretical and applied aspects and is now a well‐established discipline within ecology. A key role in this development has been played by the IAVS journals, with the Journal of Vegetation Science entering its 30th volume (Chytrý, Chiarucci, Pärtel, Pillar, Bakker, Mucina, Peet, & White, ). Among the most important and most promising developments of vegetation science are those related to the application of knowledge, approaches, and methods developed by vegetation scientists in the real world, such as those related to the management and conservation of ecosystems and habitats.…”