Application of fuzzy equivalence clustering to the analysis of functional diversity in plant communities

Functional diversity is one of the research hotspots in ecology currently, but the effective methods on functional diversity accepted by all scholars are limited. A new method based on fuzzy equivalence clustering, fuzzy index, was put forwarded and applied to the study of functional diversity of Larix principis-rupprechtii forests (36 quadrats) in the Pangquangou Nature Reserve in this paper. The results showed that fuzzy index is effective method in evaluation of functional diversity in communities. Comparisons of fuzzy index with UPGMA, FAD and MST indices also proved that fuzzy index is useful in functional diversity studies. Based on fuzzy mathematic theory, fuzzy index may have some advantages over the present methods.