Spatial scaling of structural complexity in plant communities

In the last decade, it has become well appreciated that disorder-based diversity as a single scalar quantity fails toadequately capture structural complexity in biological communities. Complexity here implies spatial correlation (cooccurrence)between species such that the larger and more intricate the correlations, the more structured thecommunity. Ideally, we should like to measure complexity in terms suitable to compare, say, a rainforest tograssland. But for this, the rules of quantification must be very general. Also, since complexity should summarizethe amount of spatial correlation, any complexity measure is by its very nature scale dependent. Taking these intoconsideration we suggest that Juhász-Nagy information-theoretical coenostate variables offer an adequate basis forthe measurement of the structural complexity within plant communities. We examine the notion of complexity inits broad sense and present a worked example using data from an early stage primary succession on an open-cast coalmine in northern Hungary.