Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2006.00293.x
Titel (primär) Incorporating spatial autocorrelation may invert observed patterns
Autor Kühn, I. ORCID logo
Quelle Diversity and Distributions
Erscheinungsjahr 2007
Department BZF
Band/Volume 13
Heft 1
Seite von 66
Seite bis 69
Sprache englisch
Keywords environmental correlates; Germany; linear models; spatial autoregressive models; plant species richness
Abstract Though still often neglected, spatial autocorrelation can be a serious issue in ecology because the presence of spatial autocorrelation may alter the parameter estimates and error probabilities of linear models. Here I re-analysed data from a previous study on the relationship between plant species richness and environmental correlates in Germany. While there was a positive relationship between native plant species richness and an altitudinal gradient when ignoring the presence of spatial autocorrelation, the use of a spatial simultaneous liner error model revealed a negative relationship. This most dramatic effect where the observed pattern was inverted may be explained by the environmental situation in Germany. There the highest altitudes are in the south and the lowlands in the north that result in some locally or regionally inverted patterns of the large-scale environmental gradients from the equator to the north. This study therefore shows the necessity to consider spatial autocorrelation in spatial analyses.
dauerhafte UFZ-Verlinkung https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=1980
Kühn, I. (2007):
Incorporating spatial autocorrelation may invert observed patterns
Divers. Distrib. 13 (1), 66 - 69 10.1111/j.1472-4642.2006.00293.x