River Ecology and Restoration - River Dynamics and Integrated River Management - page 688

Fig. 10.46 Suitability Index curves for habitat of Chinese sturgeon

flow. In some cases, differences in simple elevation above the channel bottom may serve as a reasonable
approximation of differences in inundating discharge.
(3) A relation between site moisture conditions and the actual or potential vegetation distribution—This
relation expresses the suitability of a site for a plant species or cover type based on the moisture
conditions at the site. It can be determined by sampling the distribution of vegetation at a variety of sites
with known moisture conditions and then deriving probability distributions of the likelihood of finding
a plant on a site given the moisture conditions at the site. General relations are also available from the
literature for many species.