American Journal of Geographic Information System 2012, 1(3): 72-99 DOI: 10.5923/j.ajgis.20120103.05 Algorithms for the Characterisation of Plant Strategy Patterns on a Global Scale James Furze 1,* , Jennifer Hill 1 , Quan Min Zhu 1 , Feng Qiao 2 1 Faculty of Environment and Technology, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK 2 Faculty of Information and Control Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, 9 Hunnan East Road, Hunnan New District, Shenyang, 110168, China Abstract Plant species, primary producers are in a constant process of evolution due to biotic and abiotic pressures. Climate and topographical variables are principal, large-scale factors dictating plant distribution over space and time. In this study, fuzzy algorithms were used to show the relationship between plant species presence, topology and the water-energy dynamic at seven example locations thereby inferring plant strategy on a global scale. Species locality records were obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and climatic data was sourced from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Plant life history strategies were ordered from ruderal, through competitive, to stress tolerant types with increasing severity of the environment. Abundance of species within each strategy was illustrated in contour levels in a conceptual diagram. Future developments include the use of local finer spatial resolution data in order to offer more detailed characterisation of plant species by life-form categories, metabolism and morphology, which may enhance modelling and prediction of climatic changes. Keywords Fuzzy Algorithm, Contour, Plant Strategy, Characterisation 1. Introduction Plant strategies are based on plant life history descriptions[1],[2]. As reference[2] states ‘A plant strategy may be defined as a grouping of similar or analogous genetic characteristics which recurs widely among species or populations, such that they show similarities in ecology’ page 3,[2], meaning that species of the same strategy display similar growth patterns and form the same relational place in habitats with respect to surrounding species and conditions. The main strategy categories are: Competitor (C), Stress-tolerating (S) and Ruderal (R) species. Competitive species (C) are fast growing, often aggressive species with rapid nutrient absorbtion plus rapid root and leaf growth. They develop a consolidated growth form with vigorous lateral spread above and below ground, thriving in high nutrient soils. Stress-tolerating species (S) are slow growing species, capturing and retaining scarce resources in a continuously hostile environment. Their leaves are long-lived and often heavily defended against predation. Ruderal species (R) have a potentially high growth rate within the seedling phase and display early onset of the reproductive phase. The early allocation of * Corresponding author: James.Furze@uwe.ac.uk (James Furze) Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/ajgis Copyright © 2012 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved resources to flowers and seeds is suited neither to development of extensive root and shoot systems needed for dominance of habitats, nor to highly stressed environments dependent on conservative patterns of resource use. Species may combine the above strategies (e.g. C-R, S-R, S-C and C-S-R), integrating different growth forms to suit the environment. Environment infers the strategy and vice versa[3], “Understanding the distribution of plant species across environmental gradients requires bringing theories together regarding the construction of plants, as well as their interactions with the environment, and the assembly of communities” page 1041,[4]. However the principal drawbacks of strategies in the classical form resides in the difficulty/complexity with which plants are ordinated into different types, making categorisation sometimes time-consuming and impractical when applied to large numbers of species. For example,[2] list 20 characteristics of the three strategies that have proven useful in classifying plants: main groups include types of morphology (including life-forms), elements of specific life history, physiological descriptions of growth rate (including photosynthetic mechanisms) and miscellaneous elements (such as litter description, palatability to unspecialized herbivores and DNA amount). These 4 may form key elements of plant strategies to be individually researched at a later scale. Application of Grime’s strategies was made in relation to Quercus cerris L. var. cerris woodland in Samsun, northern Turkey. Categorisation was considered appropriate as