Evaluation of syntaxonomic schemes of aquatic plant communities by cluster analysis

Numerical classification methods can simulate strategies of intuitive classifications. This paper considers two different intuitive syntaxonomic schemes suggested for stagnant eutrophic fresh-water communities with a view to identifying which among the commonest numerical methods of classification fits the two intuitive schemes best. Comparison of classifications using an information function and discriminant analysis revealed that the different numerical methods simulate different intuitive schemes, but the results of the numerical classifications are always judged superior. Two new syntaxonomic schemes optimizing the sharpness between the syntaxa are proposed. © 1982 Dr W. Junk Publishers.