The Complexity and Diversity of Typical Plant Communities Along the Northeast China Transect (NECT)

This study examine the notion of plant community complexity in a broad sense and develop a new measure based on the average length L(S) (L(S)=∑ qj=1p jl j ) of the communication-theoretical parsimonious code required to describe the community (S). Total complexity may be differentiated into organized and unorganized complexity. The author refers to Shannon-Wiener entropy H(S) (H(S)=-∑ qj=1 p j log 2 p j ) and Renyi entropy H 12 (S) (H α(S)=11-αlog 2∑ qj=1 p α j , where α =12) as “disorder-based complexity", L(S) as “total complexity" and the difference Δ(S)=L(S)-H(S) and Δ 12 (S)=L(S)-H 12 (S) as “structural complexity". The complexity and diversity of typical plant communities along the NECT (Northeast China Transect) were discussed. The results suggest that structural complexity is higher in the lightly grazed grassland than the heavily grazed grassland. Clearly, structural complexity and disorder-based diversity are not substitutes for one another and should be considered as autonomous, equally important properties. Δ 12(S) measures a community complexity distinct form the disorder-based complexity H 12 (S) .