The effect of the application of the exact and approximate methods on values of selected ecological indices

Abstract

The work presents the results of a study on the biodiversity of agrocenoses using ecological indices. In order to calculate the measures, phytosociological relevés were made and exact methods were applied in winter cereals, spring cereals, tuber crops and stubble fields. The objective of the work was to compare ecological indices (Simpson’s index of dominance C, Simpson’s index of species richness D, and Shannon-Wiener index of biodiversity H’) calculated using the number of plants and their cover determined based on the degree of presence. Moreover, correlation analysis was conducted between the indices computed using the two approaches applied. The results of the study revealed significant differences between all the indices calculated using the exact and approximate methods. In turn, comparisons of the measures computed for individual crops showed significant differences only for potato crops and winter cereals. No significant differences were found between the indicators calculated for spring cereals and stubble fields.

Keywords

• index of dominance
• index of species richness
• index of biodiversity
• comparison
• agricultural crops