Disciplines
concerned with the study of plants at different levels: species,
phytocoenosis, habitat, landscape.
Floristic studies are concerned with the geography of plants,
particularly their distributions and richness at different taxonomic
levels in relation to various influences; they are fundamental for
defining plant biodiversity and for research in chorology and phytogeography.
Analysis of the qualitative/quantitative significance of a flora,
estimates of the rarity of a taxa, and knowledge of the environmental
conditions in which species grow make it possible to predict any
risks they are under and suggest management and conservation criteria.
Phytosociology
studies have the principle aim of classifying plant communities
and describing new syntaxa. Through them, it is possible to investigate
plant community diversity and relations between plant communities
and environmental parameters and to identify ecological gradients.
Dynamic relations between associations (same sigmetum) are studied
by synphytosociological methods and relations between vegetation
series (geosigmeta) by geosynphytosociological methods. Knowledge
of the potential of an area obtained through analysis of sigmeta
and geosigmeta makes it possible to develop predictive models
useful for management programmes.
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