A critique for phytosociology

Abstract

Abstract. Phytosociology is a subdiscipline of plant ecology that describes the co‐occurrence of plant species in communities. Gradient analysis and classification are its complementary tools. Various peculiarities and anachronisms of Central European phytosociology conceal its similarity with Anglo‐American approaches. Phytosociology deserves to be updated as a part of modern vegetation science that can build on a vast heritage of high‐quality data and the tools to store and analyse them in ways that go beyond syntaxonomy. By providing a context to more specialized pure and applied research, it has a crucial role to play in understanding community structure, ecosystem functioning and biological evolution.