The use of any multivariate statistical method even for small datasets requires a computer program to perform the analysis. Most of the known statistical methods are implemented in several statistical packages. In this book, we demonstrate how to use the ordination methods with possibly the most widely employed package, Canoco for Windows. We also show how to use the methods not available in CANOCO (clustering, NMDS, ANOVA) with the general package Statistica for Windows. In the next paragraph, we provide information on obtaining a trial version of the CANOCO program, which you can use to work through the tutorials provided in this book, using the sample datasets (see Appendix A for information on how to obtain the datasets). We also provide an overview of other available software in tabular form and show both the freely available as well as the commercial software. The attention is focused on the specialized software packages, targeting ecologists (or biologists), so we do not cover general statistical packages such as S-Plus, SAS or GENSTAT.

The Canoco for Windows program is commercial software requiring a valid licence for its use. But we reached agreement with its distributor (Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY, USA), who will provide you on request with a trial version of the software, which will be functional for a minimum of one month. You can use it to try the sample analyses discussed in this book, using the data and CANOCO projects provided on our web site (see Appendix A). To contact Dr Richard Furnas from Microcomputer Power, write to the following E-mail address: trial@microcomputerpower.com.