Getting started

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Getting started

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I you have never worked with TURBOVEG before, probably one of first things you want to do, is to enter relevés into a database. The following steps can be taken in order to enter data, select the data stored in the database, and to export the relevés to a relevant format for further analysis (e.g. a classification using the software program JUICE).

 

Every dialog window has a Help button. Use it if you do not know what to do.

 

1.Create a database if no database is available or if you want to start with an empty one. From the menu select Database | New. The only two entries to be filled in are Database name and Range for system numbers. An empty database will be created. Two new empty windows are opened; the window on the left site will contain the so-called header data, the window on the right site is reserved for species data (species name, vegetation layer and cover abundance).

 

2.Start entering (single) relevés by selecting Edit | Add a relevé from the menu. In two steps a relevé can be entered. The first step will serve to put in so-called header data, species data are entered with the second step.
If there is relevant information (e.g. measured pH values for each relevé) which can not be stored in one of the available fields, the possibility exists to extend the database. See Modify the database structure for details.
 
There are more methods in Turboveg to enter relevés into a database:
 
Manually:
Edit | Add a table
To avoid entering the species for each relevé in the (printed) table a matrix of relevés and species can be generated that can be filled. In this case the species data are first entered into the database, in the second step the header data can be completed.
 
By means of computerized tables:
Import | Cornell condensed species file
Import | Free format species data file
Import | Free format header data file

 

3.Once we have stored relevés in a database, selections can be made in various ways. The simplest method is to open the database, and to press the Spacebar on each relevé we want to select. Make sure that the window with the header data is active. Selected relevés will get a flag and the lines become yellow. De-selecting a relevé may also be achieved by pressing the Spacebar.
If all relevés from the database need to be selected a one-click action can be performed by selecting Select | Select all releves of current database from the menu. The same can be done for de-selecting all relevés by selecting Select | Deselect all releves of current database.
For sophisticated selections choose Select | Build query. Selection criteria can be defined on the basis of combinations of header data items and/or combinations of species. Also the species cover abundance can be taken into account.
The selected relevés are listed in a separate window. This is the window that is first opened (and remains opened) when a Turboveg session is started.
 
A selection is not restricted to one database. You may open several databases and perform a selection in one run. The only restriction is that the relevés in the selected databases have a unique system number. To open more database select Database | Open and mark (mouse click or press the Spacebar) the desired database names.  

 

4.For further analyses of the data TURBOVEG offers quite a few export formats. One of most commonly used formats is the Cornell condensed format. A Cornell condensed formatted file can serve as an input file for e.g. TWINSPAN and CANOCO. To create a Cornell condensed file select Export | Cornell condensedspecies file from the menu. In the export file only those relevés will be included that are listed in the window with selected relevés. This can even be achieved when all databases are closed.
For further analyses with JUICE it is recommended to export the selection to a 'Standard XML file' (Export | Standard XML file), instead of using the obsolete export function to 'JUICE input files'. JUICE is an excellent software program for classification; it can handle more than 30.000 relevés in spread sheet.
 

 

To be continued…