Estimating species richness: Still a long way off!

Abstract

Xu et al., in this issue of the Journal of Vegetation Science, compare several species richness estimators. All the non-parametric estimators, such as Chao and jackknife estimators, underestimated the true number, whereas all the area-based models, based on species-area curves, overestimated it. No reliable method yet exists to predict the number of species in an area that is appreciably larger than the one(s) sampled. Xu et al., in this issue of the Journal of Vegetation Science, compare several species-richness estimators. All the non-parametric estimators, such as Chao and jackknife estimators, under-estimated the true number, whereas all the area-based models, based on species-area curves, over-estimated it. No reliable method yet exists to predict the number of species in an area that is appreciably larger than the one(s) sampled. © 2012 International Association for Vegetation Science.