A methodological approach to potential vegetation modeling using GIS techniques...

• Author(s): Capelo, J. ; Mesquita, Sandra ; Costa, José C. ; Ribeiro, Silvia ; Arsénio, Pedro ; Neto, Carlos ; Monteiro-Henriques, T. ; Aguiar, Carlos ; Honrado, João José ; Espírito-Santo, Dalila ; Lousã, Mário
• Date: 2007
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10198/5379
• Origin: Biblioteca Digital do IPB
• Subject(s): Vegetation; Natural Potential Vegetation; Portugal; GIS
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

An attempt to obtain a consistent spatial model of natural potential vegetation (NPV) for the mainland Portuguese territory is reported. Spatial modeling procedures performed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment, aimed to operationalize phytosociological expert-knowledge about the putative distribution of potential zona1 forest communities dominant in the Portuguese continental territories. The paradigm for NPV assumed was that of RIVAS-MARTINEZ (1976) and RIVAS-MARTINEZ et al. (1999), which presupposes, for a given territory, a univocal correspondence between a uniform combination of bioclimatic stage and lithology given a biogeographical context, and a unique successional sequence leading to a single climax community (i. e. a vegetation series (VS)).