Spatial autocorrelation analysis in plant population: An overview
Analysis of spatial distribution in ecology is often influenced by spatial autocorrelation. In present paper various techniques related with quantification of spatial autocorrelation were categorized. Three broad categories namely global, local and variogram were identified and mathematically explained. Local measurers captures the many local spatial variation and spatial dependency while global measurements provide only one set of values that represent the extent of spatial autocorrelation across the entire study area. Global spatial autocorrelation measures the overall clustering of data and it included six well defines methods, namely, Global index of spatial autocorrelation, Joint count statistics, Moran’s I, Geary’s C ration, General G-statistics and Getis and Ord’s G. The study revealed that out of the six methods Moran’s I index was most frequently utilized in plant population study. Based on their similarity degree, local indicator of spatial association (LISA) can differentiate the neighbors in to hot and cold spots. Correlogram and variogram approaches are also given.