Aims The vertical structure illustration can comprehensively express the structure, habitat characteristics and ecological relationships of plant communities. It is irreplaceable in vegetation research because of its high information capacity, and the efficiency of visualization and communication. However, previous vertical structure illustrations of community are short of symbol systems, and bear strong subjectivity in drawing and incomplete information expression, which hinders their effective utilization and in-depth exploration of the scientific value. Here, we propose a set of symbol systems and standardized drawing paradigms for the vegetation scientific illustrations based on the forest communities, which integrates vegetation ecology, art design and digital technology. It aims to precisely visualize the spatio-temporal characteristics of community structure and habitats.
Methods Based on the quadrat survey of typical subtropical vegetation types and the double narrow-band drawing method of facing and parallel slope surfaces, a multi-level symbol system, including six major element modules and 21 types of graphic symbols, was designed and innovatively introduced the workflow of Chinese painting realistic techniques and digital drawing tools to form a standardized process from field sketches to digital drawings.
Important findings A set of symbol systems, composition parameters and drawing techniques of the vertical structure illustration for forest community profiles was proposed, including three major symbol libraries of terrain, vegetation and soil. It brings about the quantitative expression of community vertical stratification (trees, shrubs, herbs), individual morphology (diameter at breast height, crown width, branching angle) and habitat factors (slope, soil texture, litter thickness), and clearly shows the spatial (vertical stratification and relative position of plant individuals) and non-spatial (species composition, individual size and density, etc.) structures, interspecific relationships and habitat information of the community. The universality across vegetation types has been verified through the drawing practices of 11 associations and 33 sub-graphs. This study begins at the composition and design of elements, standardizing the composition, symbol and expression techniques of the vertical structure illustration of forest community, optimizes the traditional schematic paradigm, and promotes the vertical structure illustration of community to bear both scientific accuracy and artistic expression, which provides standardized drawing tools for the compilation of Vegetation of China.
