Introduction of total indicator value model (TIVM) in vegetaion classification

In this study first, we classified Salahedin-Kola forests using TWINSPAN and modified TWINSPAN methods and then we evaluated the results of these two methods using TIVM model. The results showed that the conformity of TWINSPAN and modified TWINSPAN methods was 67.4% because of having different classification pattern. Furthermore, the quality of modified TWINSPAN result was higher than TWINSPAN. We determined four ecological groups as optimum in this region based on changes in diagram of conformity of modified TWINSPAN classification with TIVM method. The result of DCA confirmed the presence of four ecological groups in this region, too. The result of this study clearly showed that the quality of groups that had obtained from TIVM method was higher than Usual and modified TWINSPAN methods because they had lower within group and higher between group distances. So the result of this study specified that TIVM method not only it was used for evaluating the quality of classification results (used for comparing the quality groups that have obtained from usual and modified TWINSPAN), but also it was a very useful method for improving the classification results that had obtained from usual and modified TWINSPAN methods and should be noticed.