Abstract
AbstractAimThe EUNIS Habitat Classification is a widely used reference framework for European habitat types (habitats), but it lacks formal definitions of individual habitats that would enable their unequivocal identification. Our goal was to develop a tool for assigning vegetation‐plot records to the habitats of the EUNIS system, use it to classify a European vegetation‐plot database, and compile statistically‐derived characteristic species combinations and distribution maps for these habitats.LocationEurope.MethodsWe developed the classification expert system EUNIS‐ESy, which contains definitions of individual EUNIS habitats based on their species composition and geographic location. Each habitat was formally defined as a formula in a computer language combining algebraic and set‐theoretic concepts with formal logical operators. We applied this expert system to classify 1,261,373 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and other databases. Then we determined diagnostic, constant and dominant species for each habitat by calculating species‐to‐habitat fidelity and constancy (occurrence frequency) in the classified data set. Finally, we mapped the plot locations for each habitat.ResultsFormal definitions were developed for 199 habitats at Level 3 of the EUNIS hierarchy, including 25 coastal, 18 wetland, 55 grassland, 43 shrubland, 46 forest and 12 man‐made habitats. The expert system classified 1,125,121 vegetation plots to these habitat groups and 73,188 to other habitats, while 63,064 plots remained unclassified or were classified to more than one habitat. Data on each habitat were summarized in factsheets containing habitat description, distribution map, corresponding syntaxa and characteristic species combination.ConclusionsEUNIS habitats were characterized for the first time in terms of their species composition and distribution, based on a classification of a European database of vegetation plots using the newly developed electronic expert system EUNIS‐ESy. The data provided and the expert system have considerable potential for future use in European nature conservation planning, monitoring and assessment.
Highlights
Comprehensive systems of classification of natural, semi-natural and man-made habitat types are essential tools for nature conservation
Our aims here are to: (a) develop a classification expert system for automatic assignment of vegetation-plot records to coastal, wetland, grassland, shrubland, forest and man-made habitats of the revised European Nature Information System (EUNIS) Habitat Classification at Level 3 of the classification hierarchy; (b) base this system on algebraic and set-theoretic concepts combined using formal logic; (c) assign all available European vegetation plots to EUNIS habitats; (d) define the characteristic species combination for each habitat based on a statistical analysis of the plots assigned to this habitat by the expert system; and (e) provide distribution maps of individual habitats based on the location of vegetation plots assigned to these habitats
We developed formal definitions for 199 EUNIS habitats including 25 coastal, 18 wetland (Q), 55 grassland (R), 43 shrubland (S), 46 forest (T) and 12 man-made (V) habitats (Table 1) and included them in the expert system (Appendix S3)
Summary
Comprehensive systems of classification of natural, semi-natural and man-made habitat types (hereafter “habitats”) are essential tools for nature conservation. EUNIS enables structured dialogue between different networks of experts, including those describing habitats through in-situ vegetation sampling, those working with satellite imagery, and those developing and evaluating various policies To improve these uses of the EUNIS Habitat Classification, the EEA initiated a process of its revision at Level 3 (for the terrestrial realm) and 4 (for the marine realm) of the classification hierarchy. It is relevant for the EUNIS Habitat Classification because once a large number of vegetation plots from different parts of Europe are consistently assigned to habitats, exact characterization of species composition, distribution and environmental relationships of these habitats can be provided This is of great importance for practitioners because so far the EUNIS habitats were only characterized by brief and often rather unclear textual descriptions and lists of units taken without revision from previous classifications such as CORINE Biotopes or Palaearctic Habitat Classification (Rodwell et al, 2018). Our aims here are to: (a) develop a classification expert system for automatic assignment of vegetation-plot records to coastal, wetland, grassland, shrubland, forest and man-made habitats of the revised EUNIS Habitat Classification at Level 3 of the classification hierarchy; (b) base this system on algebraic and set-theoretic concepts combined using formal logic; (c) assign all available European vegetation plots to EUNIS habitats; (d) define the characteristic species combination for each habitat based on a statistical analysis of the plots assigned to this habitat by the expert system; and (e) provide distribution maps of individual habitats based on the location of vegetation plots assigned to these habitats
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