Re: [ECOLOG-L] heterogeneity vs. variability
Dear Sanghoon, I thought of the issue for a while too. In my mind, variability is a word to be used in broad sense, but heterogeneity is one more specific. Dependent on the spatial context (known spatial location or unknown), the two words convey different level of content. Variability (variations of values) are actually spatial scale dependent(study plot or area), but many studies usually don't require an accurate record of spatial location (or pattern) of their sampling, rather, more focus on changes of central tendency for their research goals. I have used coefficient of variation (CV) and Cocran's C test to index variability in my study. With accurate spatial location known, variability can be well represented by heterogeneity, which can be indexed by a various of methods (trend surface analysis, autocorrlation correlograms, kriging maps). In my recent publication we explored the within-plot variability and contrasting spatial heterogeneity among three land uses. Li J, Richter DD, Mendoza A, Heine P (2010) Effects of land-use history on soil spatial heterogeneity of macro- and trace elements in the Southern Piedmont USA. Geoderma 156:60-73 Hope it helps. Thanks, Jianwei -- Jianwei Li, Ph.D Postdoctoral Researcher Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Kansas Biological Survey University of Kansas Lawrence, KS 66047 Email: j...@ku.edu Office: 785-864-1564 Fax: 785-864-1534 --On Friday, May 28, 2010 6:17 PM -0400 Sanghoon Kang sk...@ou.edu wrote: I was writing a paper discussing spatial heterogeneity of soil measurements. At the moment, I became confused between the concept of heterogeneity and variability. To me 'heterogeneity' contains 'spatial' context, and 'variability' has 'variations of values'. Thus 'heterogeneity of N' means 'N concentrations are different at different sampling locations', while 'variability of N' means simply 'variations of N concentration without considering locations of sample'. Then in the context of 'spatial' it seem like they become indistinguishable. But I feel like they are not exactly same. Any insight? SANGHOON KANG.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] heterogeneity vs. variability
You might want to have a look at a book Ecological Heterogeneity edited by J. Kolasa and S.T.A. Pickett (1981; Springer). The book contains a conceptual review and a variaty of applications and implementations of these two concepts. Cheers, Jurek K -Original Message- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:ecolo...@listserv.umd.edu] On Behalf Of Pablo Munguia Sent: May-30-10 11:30 AM To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] heterogeneity vs. variability Dear Sanghoon, I tend to think of heterogeneity referring to resource quality (or a qualitative trait of the resource), whereas variability refers to resource quantity. Heterogeneity can differ both spatially and temporally. Sincerely, Pablo Munguia Date:Fri, 28 May 2010 18:17:46 -0400 From:=?iso-8859-1?Q?Sanghoon_Kang?= sk...@ou.edu Subject: heterogeneity vs. variability I was writing a paper discussing spatial heterogeneity of soil measurements. At the moment, I became confused between the concept of heterogeneity and variability. To me 'heterogeneity' contains 'spatial' context, and 'variability' has 'variations of values'. Thus 'heterogeneity of N' means 'N concentrations are different at different sampling locations', while 'variability of N' means simply 'variations of N concentration without considering locations of sample'. Then in the context of 'spatial' it seem like they become indistinguishable. But I feel like they are not exactly same. Any insight? SANGHOON KANG.
Re: [ECOLOG-L] heterogeneity vs. variability
Dear Sanghoon, I tend to think of heterogeneity referring to resource quality (or a qualitative trait of the resource), whereas variability refers to resource quantity. Heterogeneity can differ both spatially and temporally. Sincerely, Pablo Munguia Date:Fri, 28 May 2010 18:17:46 -0400 From:=?iso-8859-1?Q?Sanghoon_Kang?= sk...@ou.edu Subject: heterogeneity vs. variability I was writing a paper discussing spatial heterogeneity of soil measurements. At the moment, I became confused between the concept of heterogeneity and variability. To me 'heterogeneity' contains 'spatial' context, and 'variability' has 'variations of values'. Thus 'heterogeneity of N' means 'N concentrations are different at different sampling locations', while 'variability of N' means simply 'variations of N concentration without considering locations of sample'. Then in the context of 'spatial' it seem like they become indistinguishable. But I feel like they are not exactly same. Any insight? SANGHOON KANG.
[ECOLOG-L] heterogeneity vs. variability
I was writing a paper discussing spatial heterogeneity of soil measurements. At the moment, I became confused between the concept of heterogeneity and variability. To me 'heterogeneity' contains 'spatial' context, and 'variability' has 'variations of values'. Thus 'heterogeneity of N' means 'N concentrations are different at different sampling locations', while 'variability of N' means simply 'variations of N concentration without considering locations of sample'. Then in the context of 'spatial' it seem like they become indistinguishable. But I feel like they are not exactly same. Any insight? SANGHOON KANG.
