Species diversity remains a core concept in community and conservation ecology. It has for a long time been expressed in terms of richness, evenness or abundance. However, looking at communities in such a simplified fashion often leads to debates and various interpretations of what the numbers mean. Capturing such a concept without loss of information remains a challenge.

Results/Conclusions  

In this presentation, through examples, we examine how we can express species diversity of communities in a three—dimensional volume along the axes of richness, abundance, and evenness. The examples used from our own studies (from different plant and animal communities and from different regions of the world) show the usefulness of this approach. It is for example possible to evaluate the changes either spatially or temporally. This approach can be efficient for monitoring and management of biodiversity at the species level.