An outline for data analysis in phytosociology: past and present

As vegetation science develops its formalized methodology increased in importance. At the beginning of the century traditional European schools of phytosociology applied an intuitive classification and ordering scheme to establish vegetation units. The introduction of computer-supported data analysis into vegetation science accelerated the formalization. The present paper presents a formal outline for phytosociology and community analysis. In this scheme we distinguish different data states which are connected by active data handling. Data sampling and subsequent analysis can be understood as filtering processes, making theoretical assumptions in vegetation science very important. The model implied provides a basis for discussing potential problems and possibilities in vegetation science.Abbreviations PCA = Principal Component Analysis