The moving split window (MSW) analysis in vegetation science - An overview

Abstract

Boundaries are key entities in understanding ecological patterns and mechanisms. If challenges of fragmentation and global changes are to be met, objective techniques are needed to describe boundary characteristics and predict future dynamics. In vegetation science, the moving split window (MSW) technique has been efficiently used for boundary analysis. However, a wider but more rigorous application of the method could considerably promote our understanding of vegetation pattern and organization. First, we briefly describe the MSW method and its history. Next, we review publications that used MSW for field data to analyse vegetation boundaries. We also evaluate the studies that investigated MSW properties. Since such studies are scarce, our own additional tests are also provided. The MSW has been used in a multitude of different environments to answer highly diverse study questions. Study layouts (e.g. transect length, plot size, window width) have been plentiful. As for future directions, the MSW could broaden our knowledge on vegetation continuity vs. discontinuity and abioticbiotic relations. It should more widely be used to study boundary dynamics. Real cross-scale studies could be achieved by using considerably different window widths without averaging the resulting dissimilarities. A significance test is needed for the correct interpretation of the results. © 2014, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary.