A method for estimating vegetation change over time and space

Plant diversity is used as an indicator of the well-being of vegetation and ecological systems. Human activities and global change drive vegetation change in composition and competition of species through plant invasions and replacement of existing species on a given scale. However, species diversity indices do not consider the effects of invasions on the diversity value and on the functions of ecosystems. On the other hand, the existing methods for diversity index can not be used directly for cross-scale evaluation of vegetation data. Therefore, we proposed a 3-dimensional model derived from the logistic equation for estimating vegetation change, using native and non-native plant diversity. The two variables, based on the current and the theoretical maximum diversity of native plants on a given scale, and the result of the model are relative values without units, and are therefore scale-independent. Hence, this method developed can be used directly for cross-scale evaluations of vegetation data, and indirectly for estimating ecosystem or environmental change.