ANALYSIS OF VEGETATION STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY BY BURNABYS SIMILARITY INDEX

The application of Burnaby's similarity index is discussed by using st ructural data from mediterranean vegetation. The index, suggested to c ompare objects described by characters measured on different scales (m ixed data), was applied in a fuzzy theory context. Ordinations of vege tation releves and structural characters by joint plots have been obta ined. These are very useful to map vegetation structural diversity in multidimensional spaces and to test the efficiency of an intuitive cla ssification based on qualitative assessment.