Multivariate Analysis of Soil-Vegetation Interaction and Species Diversity in a Natural Environment

Multivariate Analysis of Soil-Vegetation Interaction and Species Diversity in a Natural Environment



Publisher : Springer
ISBN : DOI: 10.1007/978-3-0
Pages : 675
Status : Printed
Price : IRR 107
To manage rangeland ecosystems, the first step is to determine effective factors on species distribution and diversity. The prediction models of species distribution determine the most effective factors for any plant species and examine behavior of the species interacted with environmental variables and also accompanying species. In this work, to study ecological characteristics and to determine the most important environmental factors affecting the Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.) species, its range was mapped using a randomly-systematic approach to take 30 plots of 10 m2. The soil samples were taken from a depth of 0 to 30 cm. The evenness and richness indices were computed based on species frequency in each plot and each community, i.e. witness and Rhus coriaria L. The independent samples t-test, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) were employed for comparing natural Sumac habitat with control area (without the presence of Rhus coriaria L.). According to the Shannon-Weiner diversity index, Sumac habitat was more diverse and based on the evenness index of 0.717, it showed more uniform distribution compared to control area. The student’s t-test of independent samples in two areas demonstrated a significant higher amount (between 30 and 140%) of electrical conductivity, saturated electrical conductivity, potassium, organic matter in Sumac habitat, as compared with control area. Finally, the relationship analysis between soil factors and vegetation using the multivariate techniques of PCA and CCA showed that the soil characteristics, saturation moisture percentage, electrical conductivity, nitrogen, organic matter, lime, potassium, silt and acidity had the most impact on separation of two regions and distribution of Sumac species.
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