Spatial modelling of plant diversity from high-throughput environmental dna sequence data

This paper considers a statistical modelling approach to investigate spatial cross-correlations between species in an ecosystem. A special feature is the origin of the data from high-troughput environmental DNA sequencing of soil samples. Here we use data collected at the Nourague CNRS Field Station in French Guiana. We describe bivariate spatial relationships in these data by a separable linear model of coregionalisation and estimate a cross-correlation parameter. Based on this estimate, we visualise plant taxa co-occurrence pattern in form of 'interaction graphs' which can be interpreted in terms of ecological interactions. Limitations of this approach are discussed along with possible alternatives.