Editors' Choice Paper of the first quarter of 2022

The research paper by Alvarez & Luebert (2022) has been selected as Editors' Choice for the first quarter of 2022.

Chile has a long tradition in vegetation classification using the Braun-Blanquet approach. However, a modern synopsis for this huge and diverse country is lacking.

Alvarez & Luebert (2022) took an important step in this direction by establishing a vegetation-plot database and preparing a preliminary syntaxonomic scheme for the whole country. They also compared the syntaxonomic scheme with the formation system of the EcoVeg approach. Their work highlights data gaps and inconsistencies in the current syntaxonomy, and therefore provides a road map for further research.

"We believe that this paper will stimulate vegetation classification in Chile, and it may also serve as a template for other non-European countries with a Braun-Blanquet legacy," say the VCS' Editors-in-Chief.