SRUD: a simple non-destructive method for accurate quantification of plant diversity dynamics

1. Predicting changes in plant diversity in response to human activities represents one of the major challenges facing ecologists and land managers striving for sustainable ecosystem management. Classical field studies have emphasized the importance of community primary productivity in regulating changes in plant species richness. However, experimental studies have yielded inconsistent empirical evidence, suggesting that primary productivity is not the sole determinant of plant diversity. Recent work has shown that more accurate predictions of changes in species diversity can be achieved by combining measures of species' cover and height into an index of Space Resource Utilization (SRU). While the SRU approach provides reliable predictions, it is time-consuming and requires extensive taxonomic expertise. Ecosystem processes and plant community structure are likely driven primarily by dominant species (mass-ratio effect). Within communities, it is likely that dominant and rare species ha...