Remotely sensed variables predict grassland diversity better at scales below 1,000 km as opposed to abiotic variables that predict it better at larger scales

Abstract

Global spatial patterns of vascular plant diversity have been mapped at coarse grain based on climate‐dominated environment–diversity relationships and, where possible, at finer grain using remote sensing. However, for grasslands with their small plant sizes, the limited availability of vegetation plot data has caused large uncertainties in fine‐grained mapping of species diversity. Here we used vegetation survey data from 1,609 field sites (>4,000 plots of 1 m$^{2}$ Show more