Long-term vegetation study through resurveys is essential for quantifying how biodiversity changes over time. The accuracy of resurvey data is influenced by plot relocation errors, arising from the spatial uncertainty of historical plot locations. Preferential location of resurvey plots potentially underestimates vegetation change in time, whereas random location may overestimate it.
To address these methodological issues, we compared preferential and random relocation approaches, focusing on diversity patterns across two common grassland types in Central Europe.
At 50 sites along the Austrian-Czech border, we compared: a) resurvey plots located preferentially by the surveyor in the field in a place with vegetation similar to that described in the historical plot, b) resurvey plots located randomly within a 300-m spatial buffer around the probable location of the historical plot, within the same land-cover type.
While both approaches yielded overall similar results, resurvey plots located preferentially indicated smaller changes in species richness and composition change than random plots.
For more details, see the publication:
Shih Mendez E, Glaser M, Chytrý M, Haring V, Velasco Mones G, Padulosi E, Pleyer J, Willner W, Essl F, Clark AT (2026) The Influence of Resurvey Plot Location on Observed Vegetation Change. Journal of Vegetation Science. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.70164.
