Articles | Volume 15, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/we-15-25-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.Defining heterogeneity as a second level of variation
Abstract. The term heterogeneity has been defined in various ways so that the meaning of heterogeneity has become ambiguous. However, heterogeneity can be defined carefully as a distinct response to multiple single types of underlying variation, that is, a secondary level of variation (or "metavariation"). Identification of heterogeneity is affected by multiple factors, including researcher decisions, and ecosystems at a specified scale can contain both heterogeneous and homogenous variables. A formalized definition may also reduce the suggestion that heterogeneity is more beneficial than homogeneity.