The ecology of a beech forest on Mt. Sanpoiwadake, Hakusan National Park, Japan I. Braun‐Blanquet, TWINSPAN and DCA analysis

The Lindero membranaceae‐Fagetum crenatae association on Mt. Sanpoiwadake, Hakusan National Park, Japan, has been classified using traditional Braun‐Blanquet methods. The association was floristically sub‐divided into six communities, all of which had been included as four subassociations by Hukusima (1982). The resulting table was compared with an analogous community table derived using computer‐based TWINSPAN analysis. This dual approach was shown to provide a fully objective classification by method, the subjective element in the Braun‐Blanquet method thus being substantiated TWINSPAN. Subsequent ordination of the data using DCA then provided a further degree of objective evaluation allowing any misclassified stand or species to be re‐examined, and at the same time displaying the detailed inter‐relationships between all species or stands.