Abstract: Ordination axes partitioning,a new method for classification of plant communities, is described in this paper.It is based on the first m ordination axes of Detrended correspondence analysis and is a polythetic technique. The outcome of its application to the classification of Vitex negundo var. heterophylla is identical tothat of fuzzy equivalence clustering and group-average clustering. It is concluded that ordination axes partitioning is a simple,effective methedology in vegetation study.

Key words: ecological water requirement, urban water resources ecological footprint, water resources ecological carrying capacity, Shenyang City.