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Network Biology, 2017, 7(2): 33-40
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Article

Measurement and identification of positive plant interactions: Overview and new perspective

WenJun Zhang
School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Hong Kong

Received 19 November 2016;Accepted 10 December 2016;Published 1 June 2017
IAEES

Abstract
Positive interactions play a key role in plant communities. The present study discusses measurement/identification methods of positive plant interactions. So far, some indices, e.g., RII, RCI, RNE and lnRR, and some models, e.g., site-based neighborhood models, individual-based models, etc., are usually used to measure and identify the type and strength of positive plant interactions. Most of these methods are based on interaction data of two species only. In a multi-species community or ecosystem, which occurs mostly in the nature, the interaction between two species is influenced by other species in the environment and may change as the time. Those indices and models may not exactly represent the true situations in the nature. Therefore, I argue that the inclusion of multi-species interactions in the network and utilization of theory and methods of network analysis and network evolution should be the focus in the future. The network evolution model, and correlation- and network-based methods in relation to species interactions were introduced and discussed. Finally, I think that network thinking and selforganizology are the basis for the future research of complex and dynamic species interactions.

Keywords positive plant interactions;measurement;identification;indices;models;sampling;network analysis;self-organization.

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