The researchers compared two methods, co-inertia analysis and canonical correspondence analysis, to study a plant community in China with limited environmental variables. Both methods showed similar results, with the first axes correlating with elevation. The second axis of co-inertia analysis corresponded to the third axis of canonical correspondence analysis, and vice versa. The first three axes of both methods were linked to elevation, slope position, soil thickness, and litter layer thickness. Co-inertia analysis had higher eigenvalues and variance percentage compared to canonical correspondence analysis.