Pointer values according to Ellenberg
The abbreviation pointer values according to Ellenberg for the "ecological pointer values of plants in Central Europe" is a classification method for Central European plants according to their ecological "behavior" and botanical properties that Heinz Ellenberg first described in detail in the mid-1970s .
The indicator values according to Ellenberg are parameters for individual plant species derived from ecological and botanical observations and experiences . It is therefore an empirical procedure in which the real occurrence of the species in the field is assessed, not the result of laboratory measurements. This is v. a. This is important because the real occurrence of plants results to a very large extent from competition with other plant species, i. H. the focus of occurrence rarely coincides with the physiological optimum of the species. The pointer values have now been confirmed or secured for some plant species through site analyzes and ecophysiological studies.
Pointer values for characterizing species and locations
In botany, the pointer values according to Ellenberg can be used to obtain information about the location requirements of a plant species . In ecology, especially in the application-related area of agriculture and forestry , they are used to make statements about the location based on the requirements of the plants that occur at a certain location and together form a plant community there.
Pointer values for location analysis
Ellenberg's pointer values are particularly relevant in the closely related disciplines of geobotany , vegetation and plant sociology . Because not only individual plant species, but also plant communities give indications of the local conditions due to their ecological behavior. This applies in particular to natural and near-natural plant communities, to a limited extent for all spontaneously developing plant communities in which the participating plant families compete for space, light, water, nutrients and other eco-factors. In order to evaluate a plant community, the average numbers of the species involved are calculated for the individual location factors. This results in a brief ecological characteristic of the ecotopes . Species with similar ecological behavior can also be found relatively easily in corresponding indicator value tables, which can be combined to form “ecological groups”, that is, synecological groups of species without any systematic relationship.
Application focus
Critics in particular repeatedly emphasize that ecological values are no substitute for ecological measurements, but only an aid in addressing the location. This is justified, among other things, with the need to maintain a critical distance from the numerical values. The latter can certainly be agreed and is especially true at a time when, in the course of IT expansion, the belief in numbers of politics and administration threatens to spill over to the ecological area. Basically, a minimum of care in interpreting syndynamic processes is more appropriate than blind trust in the figures.
Nevertheless, it is not so much a question of a fundamental decision between bioindication and measurement, but rather the question of the expediency of the chosen method. In general, one can say: Working with pointer values makes sense when measurements are ruled out for time or cost reasons, but vegetation recordings are available anyway. The advantage of the ecological value numbers is the speed of the method. On the other hand, it also offers the possibility of establishing a temporal reference to changes in location by comparing old and new recording material. As Nitsche and Nitsche (1994) emphasize, the effects of extensification measures such as emaciation and raising the groundwater level can be documented very nicely after a few years using the moisture, light and nutrient count. This was also shown in Thorn (1998) in a comparison of two litter meadow areas in southern Bavaria with resumed mowing.
The great advantage of the numerical classification of the ecological behavior is the possibility to calculate average numbers, spectra or other summarizing expressions for whole plant stands. These average numbers can then be used for ecological labeling of such stocks. Taking into account the indicator values of all species involved, an assessment parameter is obtained that allows much finer gradations than is possible, for example, with the plant-sociological system according to Braun-Blanquet .
Notes on statistics
From a mathematical point of view, the pointer values - similar to the school grades - belong to the "ordinal", not to the "cardinal" numbers, and statistics strictly forbid their averaging. But as everyone knows, even the grades in mathematics are averaged, although this is not a cardinal series of numbers. On the other hand, pointer values cannot simply be viewed as “ordinal” numbers, since they do not just represent “a sequence of digits”. Rather, it is a relative gradation according to the gravity of the occurrence in the terrain. Although, strictly speaking, pointer values are not "basic numbers" with a cardinal character that arise through summation, calculating with them has proven to be very effective. In geobotany and landscape ecology, mean pointer values are often used and correlations between measured values and ecological values are calculated. In the meantime, averaging is even recommended for practice by many former critics (Durwen, 1982, 1983; Kowarik & Seidling, 1989). It is now agreed that the pointer values can be viewed as "quasi-cardinal" (Ellenberg et al. 1992).
Ellenberg et al. (1992) present - in addition to the purely qualitative method, which averages the pointer values without weighting - also 2 quantitative methods for calculating mean pointer values. Kowarik & Seidling (1989) also deal with problems and limitations in calculating the pointer value.
The pointer value factors in detail
The following location factors are recorded in the system of pointer values:
Furthermore, information on life form and leaf endurance can also be found in the system.
In the following, the abbreviations for all possible pointer values are given for the individual factors, some with brief explanations.
General note:
If a plant species is marked with an X for one of the factors , this means that it behaves indifferently in this regard .
Light number (L number)
The light number L evaluates the occurrence in relation to the relative illuminance (= r. B.). For the plants, the relative lighting that prevails at the place of growth of the respective species at the time of full foliage of the deciduous plants (i.e. from around July to September) with diffuse lighting (e.g. in fog or evenly overcast sky) is decisive.
| Light number (L) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 1 | Deep shade plant | still less than 1%, rarely more than 30% r. B. occurring |
| 2 | Deep shade to shade plant | between 1 and 3 |
| 3 | Shade plant | mostly at less than 5% r. B., but also in lighter areas |
| 4th | Shadow to partial shade plant | between 3 and 5 standing |
| 5 | Partial shade plant | only in exceptional cases in full light, but mostly at more than 10% r. B. |
| 6th | Partial shade to semi-light plant | between 5 and 7 standing, rarely less than 20% r. B. |
| 7th | Semi-light plant | mostly in full light, but also in the shade up to about 30% r. B. |
| 8th | Half-light to full-light plant | Light plant, only in exceptional cases at less than 40% r. B. |
| 9 | Full light plant | only in fully irradiated areas outdoors, not at less than 50% r. B. |
See also: shade plant
Temperature number (T number)
The temperature number T evaluates the occurrence in the warm area of the polar zone or the alpine altitude level up to the Mediterranean-shaped lowlands.
| Temperature number (T) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 1 | Cold pointer | only in high mountain areas, d. H. the alpine and nival level |
| 2 | Cold to cool hands | between 1 and 3 standing (many alpine species) |
| 3 | Cool pointer | mainly in subalpine locations |
| 4th | Cool to moderate heat pointer | between 3 and 5 standing (especially high montane and montane species) |
| 5 | Moderate heat pointer | Occurring in deep to montane layers (heavy weight in submontane temperate areas) |
| 6th | Moderately warm to heat pointer | between 5 and 7 standing (planar to collin) |
| 7th | Heat pointer | in northern Central Europe only in relatively warm lowlands |
| 8th | Heat to extreme heat indicator | between 7 and 9 standing (mostly with sub-Mediterranean heavyweight) |
| 9 | extreme heat pointer | Mediterranean (in Central Europe only in the warmest places, e.g. in the Upper Rhine region) |
Continental number (K number)
The continental number K evaluates the distribution gravity from the European Atlantic coast (1) to inner Asia (9).
| Continental number (K) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 1 | euocean | in Central Europe only with a few occurrences (southern and western European species) |
| 2 | oceanic | Heavyweight in Western Europe and in Western Central Europe |
| 3 | oceanic to sub-oceanic | between 2 and 4 standing (occurring in large parts of Central Europe) |
| 4th | subocean | Heavyweight in Central Europe, e.g. Sometimes also in Eastern Europe |
| 5 | intermediate | weakly suboceanic to weakly subcontinental |
| 6th | subcontinental | Heavyweight in Eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe |
| 7th | subcontinental to continental | between 6 and 8 standing |
| 8th | continental | Occurring only in a few locations in Eastern Central Europe |
| 9 | eucontinental | completely absent in western central Europe, rare in eastern (eastern European species) |
Humidity number (F number)
The moisture index F evaluates occurrences from shallow, dry rock slopes to swamp soils and submerged locations. The F-number is widely used, especially in grassland biotopes , because on the one hand this plant formation is particularly dependent on good water availability , on the other hand this historically traditional form of land use suffered greatly from drainage .
| Humidity factor (F) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 1 | Strong dry pointer | limited to dry soils, viable in often drying places |
| 2 | Strong dry to dry pointer | between 1 and 3 |
| 3 | Dryness pointer | more common on dry soils than on fresh, absent on damp |
| 4th | Dry to freshness indicator | between 3 and 5 standing |
| 5 | Freshness pointer | Heavy weight on medium moist soils |
| 6th | Freshness to humidity indicator | between 5 and 7 standing |
| 7th | Humidity pointer | Heavyweight on well-moistened but not wet soils |
| 8th | Humidity to wetness indicator | between 7 and 9 standing |
| 9 | Moisture indicator | Heavy weight on often soaked (lack of air) floors |
| 10 | Exchange water pointer | Aquatic plant that can withstand long periods of time without water covering the soil |
| 11 | Aquatic plant | rooted under water, but at least temporarily rising above the surface or floating plant |
| 12 | Underwater plant | (almost) constantly submerged |
| ~ | Pointer for strong change | additional information |
| = | Flood pointer | additional information |
Response number (R number)
The reaction number R evaluates the occurrence depending on extremely acidic to alkaline (lime-rich) soils, but R does not correspond to the pH value , see also: Soil pH .
| Response number (R) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 1 | Strong acid pointer | Occurring only on acidic, never on weakly acidic to alkaline soils |
| 2 | Strong acid to acid pointers | between 1 and 3 |
| 3 | Acid pointer | Heavy weight on acid soils, only exceptionally in the neutral area |
| 4th | Acid to moderate acid pointer | between 3 and 5 standing |
| 5 | Moderately acidic pointer | rarely on strongly acidic as well as on neutral to alkaline soils |
| 6th | Moderately acid to weak acid / weak base pointer | between 5 and 7 standing |
| 7th | Weak acid to weak base pointer | never on strongly acidic soils |
| 8th | Weak acid / weak base to base and lime pointers | between 7 and 9 standing, d. H. mostly pointing to lime |
| 9 | Base and lime hands | always on lime-rich soils |
Nitrogen number (N number)
According to more recent findings, the nitrogen number N is more of a "nutrient number" because it describes the general availability of nutrients for plants in the soil; So besides nitrogen (N) also the availability of the other essential macro-nutrients potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg). Based on mineral soils, which tend to be undersupplied with N, the N number was originally mainly interpreted as a measure of the exclusive supply of mineral nitrogen (NH 4 + and NO 3 -), see also : Nitrogen fertilizers , Nitrophyte . In organogenic or humus-rich soils (e.g. bog soils ), on the other hand, the N number does not indicate the availability of the abundant nitrogen there, but that of the above-mentioned minerals . The use of the nitrogen number to evaluate the nitrogen availability was established in December 2008 with the guideline VDI 3959 Part 1 Vegetation as an indicator for nitrogen inputs; Evaluation of nitrogen availability standardized by Ellenberg pointer values of forest floor vegetation .
| Nitrogen number (N) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 1 | Extreme nitrogen poor defeat | Indicating locations with the lowest nitrogen levels |
| 2 | Extreme nitrogen to nitrogen poor scourer | between 1 and 3 |
| 3 | Nitrogen poor scourer | more frequently on N-poor locations than on mediocre sites, only in exceptional cases on N-rich locations |
| 4th | Nitrogen depletion to moderate nitrogen indicator | between 3 and 5 standing |
| 5 | Moderate nitrogen pointer | Showing moderately N-rich locations, less often to N-poor and N-rich |
| 6th | Moderately nitrogen to nitrogen rich indicator | between 5 and 7 standing |
| 7th | Nitrogen abundance indicator | more frequently in N-rich locations than in mediocre, only in exceptional cases in N-poor locations |
| 8th | pronounced nitrogen pointer | between 7 and 9 standing |
| 9 | excessive nitrogen pointer | concentrated in excessively N-rich locations (cattle storage plant, pollution indicator) |
Salt number (S number)
The salt number S describes the occurrence in the gradient of the salt concentration (especially Cl - concentration) in the root area of the soil from 0 (not salt bearing) to 9 (extremely salt bearing).
| Salt number (S) | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| 0 | not salt bearing | only on soils without salt (the number "0" is to be used in calculations!) |
| 1 | salt bearing | mostly on low-salt to salt-free soils, occasionally on slightly saline soils (0-0.1% Cl - ) |
| 2 | oligohalin (I) | more often on soils with very low chloride content (0.05-0.3% Cl - ) |
| 3 | β-mesohalin (II) | mostly on soils with a low chloride content (0.3–0.5% Cl - ) |
| 4th | α / β-mesohalin (II / III) | mostly on soils with low to moderate chloride content (0.5-0.7% Cl - ) |
| 5 | α-mesohalin (III) | mostly on soils with moderate chloride content (0.7-0.9% Cl - ) |
| 6th | α-meso- / polyhaline (III / IV) | on soils with moderate to high chloride content (0.9–1.2% Cl - ) |
| 7th | polyhaline (IV) | on soils with high chloride content (1.2-1.6% Cl - ) |
| 8th | euhalin (IV / V and V) | on soils with a very high chloride content (> 1.6–2.3% Cl - ) |
| 9 | euhaline to hypersaline (V / VI) | on soils with a very high salinity, extreme in dry periods (> 2.3% Cl - ) |
Heavy metal resistance
The heavy metal resistance is rated ...
| Heavy metal resistance | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| b | moderately heavy metal resistant | ... |
| B. | extremely heavy metal resistant | ... |
Life form
In addition to the pointer values, the type of life of the species is given, which is primarily determined by the location of the wintering buds. This information distinguishes between flowering plants, mosses and lichens, for each of which a different range of values is available.
| Life form in flowering plants | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation: Position of the wintering organs to the surface of the earth |
| A. | Hydrophyte | aquatic plant, hibernating buds usually under water |
| C. | herbaceous chamaephyte | Buds like Z mostly overwintering above the ground and in a snow shelter |
| H | Hemicryptophyte | Wintering buds near the surface of the earth |
| T | Therophyte | short-lived and persistent in unfavorable times as seeds |
| G | Geophyte | Hibernating buds under the earth's surface mostly with storage organs |
| Z (z) | woody chamaephyte | Dwarf shrub, rarely reaching a height of more than 0.5 m (note "z" if two years old) |
| N (n) | Nanophanerophyte | Shrub or small tree, usually 0.5–5 m high (note "n" if two years old) |
| P | Phanerophyte | Tree that can grow to be more than 5 m tall |
| left | Liana or spreading climber | leaning on other plants, but rooting in the ground |
| ep | Epiphyte | not living as parasitic "epiphytes" on other plants |
| hp | Semi-parasite | parasitic on living plants but with green leaves |
| vp | Full parasite | like hp, but without leaf green |
| Life form in mosses | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| A. | Hydrophyte | aquatic moss |
| C. | Chamaephyte | largely above the earth |
| H | Hemicryptophyte | near the surface of the earth |
| T | Therophyte | short-lived |
| E. | Epiphyte | on other plants, e.g. B. trees alive |
In the case of lichens , the life form is given in two parts. The two abbreviations for substrate and growth habit are separated by a hyphen ( - ).
| Life form in lichens | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | Substrate | Explanation |
| E. | Soil or raw humus | ... |
| G | rock | ... |
| H | Wood | ... |
| M. | Mosses | ... |
| R. | bark | ... |
| value | ' Growth habit' | Explanation |
| Ak | Outer crust | ... |
| Be | Lichen | Cladonia type |
| Ce | Lichen | Cetraria type |
| Cl | Lichen | Cladina type |
| Ik | Inner crust | in the substrate |
| L. | Leaf lichen | ... |
| N | Umbilical lichen | ... |
| r | rosette growth | ... |
| S. | with scaly bearing | ... |
| ... | u. a. Information | There are other, albeit rarer, abbreviations for the growth habit. |
Leaf persistence
The blade endurance is a characteristic that is rarely given in the context of the pointer values. It serves only as additional information.
| Leaf persistence | ||
|---|---|---|
| value | designation | Explanation |
| I. | evergreen | in all seasons with leaves that often live longer than a year |
| W. | overwintering green | often overwintering with green leaves, which are mostly replaced in spring |
| S. | summer green | only in the warmer season with green leaves |
| V | pre-summer green | green from early spring to early summer, but then mostly moving in |
literature
- G. Briemle: Successes and failures in maintaining a wet biotope. Applicability of ecological figures. In: Telma. 18, self-published by DGMT, Hanover 1988, pp. 311–322
- G. Briemle: On the applicability of ecological values in grassland. In: Applied botany. 71, Göttingen 1997, pp. 219-228
- G. Briemle, H. Ellenberg: On the mowing compatibility of grassland plants. Possibilities for the practical application of pointer values. In: Natur und Landschaft , 69 (4), Bonn 1994, pp. 139–147
- A. Dorn, E. Pohl (edit.): Plant pointer values for school use. 3. Edition. Goltze, Göttingen, ISBN 3-88452-840-8 (Reduced version according to Heinz Ellenberg: "Pointer values of plants in Central Europe". - The pointer value tables are arranged according to German plant names, the scientific names are also given. Those described in school identification books are taken into account Plants. The information was limited to pointer values relevant for school lessons on ecological behavior: light index, temperature index, humidity index, reaction index and nitrogen index.)
- K.-J. Durwen: For the use of pointer values and species-specific characteristics of the vascular plants of Central Europe for the purposes of landscape ecology and planning with the help of EDP. Requirements, instruments, methods and possibilities. Employer Chair f. Landscape Ecology Münster 5, Münster 1982
- K.-J. Durwen: bioindication in the service of environmental protection. In: Contributions Landespflege Rheinland-Pfalz. 9, Oppenheim 1983, pp. 133-160
- H. Ellenberg et al. a .: Indicator values of plants in Central Europe. 3rd, extended Edition Goltze, Göttingen 1992, ISBN 3-88452-518-2 (Scripta Geobotanica 18)
- H. Ellenberg: Vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps from an ecological, dynamic and historical perspective. 5th edition, Ulmer, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8252-8104-3 (pointer value list with explanations on pages 1020-1065)
- I. Kowarik, W. Seidling: Pointer value calculations according to Ellenberg. On problems and limitations of a useful method. In: Landscape and City. 21, 1989, pp. 132-143
- S. Nitsche, L. Nitsche: Extensive grassland use. Neumann, Radebeul 1994, ISBN 3-7402-0149-5
- M. Thorn: Effects of landscape conservation measures on the vegetation of littered meadows - comparative study with the help of permanent observation areas . Dissertation, Munich, 1998
Web links
- boku.ac.at - Ecological indicator values
- hypersoil.uni-muenster.de - pointer plants
- Umwelt.uni-hannover.de - Pointer plant garden at the Institute for Environmental Planning at Leibniz University Hannover
- Pointer value calculation ( Memento from August 5, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- Video: Location mapping according to Heinz Ellenberg - An ecological landscape analysis and assessment . Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) 1995, made available by the Technical Information Library (TIB), doi : 10.3203 / IWF / C-1945 .
- Database with pointer values according to Ellenberg for 1800 plant species
Individual evidence
- ↑ H. Ellenberg, HE Weber, R. Düll, V. Wirth, W. Werner, D. Paulißen: Pointer values of plants in Central Europe . Scripta Geobotanica 18, 2nd edition, 1992
- ↑ C. Rechtien: GIS, grassland and pointer values. A test project on the Dümmer. Diploma thesis at the University of Osnabrück, Department of Mathematics / Computer Science, 1999.
- ^ I. Kowarik, W. Seidling: Pointer value calculations according to Ellenberg. On problems and limitations of a useful method. In: Landscape and City. 21, 1989, pp. 132-143
- ↑ VDI 3959 sheet 1: 2008-12 Vegetation as an indicator for nitrogen inputs; Evaluation of nitrogen availability by Ellenberg indicator values of forest ground vegetation (Vegetation as an indicator of nitrogen input; Assessment of nitrogen availability by Ellenberg indicator values of forest ground vegetation). Beuth Verlag, Berlin, pp. 1-3.