The spatial heterogeneity and ecological characteristics of 74 vegetation types and the lack of vegetation type within the 9.6 million km² of Chinese territory were studied using data from the China vegetation map. The analysis used 877 large quadrats 10 mm×10 mm (actual size 100 km×100 km), which covered about 8.77 million km². Each large-quadrat was divided into four small 5 mm×5 mm quadrats (actual size 50 km×50 km). The frequency of occurrence of all vegetation types was recorded in each small quadrat. The survey using the Shiyomi method of vegetation analysis based on the beta-binomial distribution was adopted to describe the frequency of occurrence and spatial heterogeneity for each kind of vegetation. The weighted average heterogeneity of all the vegetation types in the landscape provides a measure of the landscape level heterogeneity which describes the spatial intricacy of the existing vegetation composition. The maximum spatial vegetation heterogeneity was 0.8620 in the frigid-temperate coniferous forest of Larix (V₁), which dominates cold moist northeast China. The minimum spatial heterogeneity with a low occurrence was the Caragana tibetica in the gravel desert in the western Yellow River Hetao area. The minimum occurrence with a low spatial heterogeneity was the Monsoon rainforest on rock in Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces. The vegetation types on the Qing-Zang Plateau were found to be representative of Chinese vegetation because of the very high occurrence and spatial heterogeneity of these vegetation types. The weighted average of the heterogeneity was 0.677, while the vegetation diversity index was 3.29.

The vegetation spatial heterogeneity and ecological characteristics in different soil regions were analyzed by surveying the vegetation in 12 different soil regions of Inner Mongolia, China, including coniferous-broadleaf deciduous forests, shrub, grassland, and desert regions with 1122 large 2 cm × 2 cm quadrats (actual size 30 km × 30 km, referred to as L-quadrat hereafter) in about 1.18 million km². Each L-quadrat was divided into four small 1 cm × 1 cm quadrats (actual size 15 km × 15 km, S-quadrat). The vegetation was analyzed based on the beta-binomial distribution to describe the frequency of occurrence and spatial heterogeneity for each kind of vegetation. The weighted average of the heterogeneity of all vegetation in the same soil region provides a measure of the soil regional landscape level heterogeneity which describes the spatial complexity of the regional landscape composition of the existing vegetation. Comparison of the vegetation characteristics in the 12 soil regions shows that, the calcic gray soil has the highest average vegetation type per quadrat. The largest soil region is calcic chestnut soil and has the most vegetation types. Every soil region has its own dominant vegetation sequence which dominates in occurrence and dominant vegetation types which dominates in spatial heterogeneity. For the Inner Mongolian vegetation, the weighted average of the heterogeneity is 0.60 and the vegetation diversity index is 4.47.

Spatial heterogeneity and stability are fundamental indices for describing vegetation communities. The spatial distribution characteristics of the vegetation in Nenjiang region of northeastern China were evaluated using a variance power-law model. The data fits the model well with estimates given for the levels of heterogeneity for not only single species but also the community as a whole. The linear regression indicates that the species in the community exhibit a consistently organized spatial pattern, as is often discovered in field surveys but rarely seen in artificial systems. The species deviations from the regression line, which exhibit a leptokurtic distribution, may reflect the variability of the community. Thus, the model provides a general tool for management and regulation of ecosystems, especially where there is human disturbances.