Less than eight (and a half) misconceptions of spatial analysis |
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| Authors: | Ingolf Kühn Carsten F Dormann |
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| Institution: | 1. UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Community Ecology, 06120 Halle, Germany;2. Faculty of Forest and Environmental Science, University of Freiburg, Chair of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, 79104 Freiburg/Breisgau, Germany E‐mail: ingolf.kuehn@ufz.de |
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| Abstract: | Spatial analyses are indispensable analytical tools in biogeography and macroecology. In a recent Guest Editorial, Hawkins (Journal of Biogeography, 2012, 39 , 1–9) raised several issues related to spatial analyses. While we concur with some points, we here clarify those confounding (1) spatial trends and spatial autocorrelation, and (2) spatial autocorrelation in the response variable and in the residuals. We argue that recognizing spatial autocorrelation in statistical modelling is not only a crucial step in model diagnostics, but that disregarding it is essentially wrong. |
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| Keywords: | Biogeography macroecology spatial analysis spatial autocorrelation spatial trends statistical analyses |
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