Methods for assessing the effects of environmental parameters on biological communities in long-term ecological studies - A literature review

Fabien Verniest and Sabine Greulich

Ecological Modelling, 2019, vol. 414, issue C

Abstract: Many ecological processes that play important roles in ecosystems occur over long time periods and can therefore not always be properly studied with short-term studies. However, researchers have to face many challenges while setting up long-term ecological studies, including the choice of relevant data analysis methods and the design of the study (i.e. sampling frequency, number of sites, etc.). This literature review, based on 99 original studies, provides an overview of methodological choices used to analyse the effects of abiotic parameters on biological communities on a long-term scale. To this end, the main characteristics of study design were recorded (e.g. sampling frequency, duration, taxa, variables) and the different data analysis tools summarised and analysed. We found that long-term ecological studies focusing on the effects of environmental factors on biotic parameters mostly concerned aquatic habitats. Studies substantially varied in their design, although many of them had similar aims. Univariate methods, almost entirely performed by means of linear modelling and correlation tests, were used more often than multivariate methods. Finally, constrained and unconstrained ordination methods were used equally, and other data analysis tools were rare. Finally, we created a decision key to help researchers choose the appropriate analysis tools for their specific long-term study.

Keywords: LTER; Data analysis; Sampling; Multivariate data; Modelling; Statistics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:414:y:2019:i:c:s0304380019302327

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.108732

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