Vegetation composition and its relationship with the environment in mallines of north Patagonia, Argentina

Abstract

Mallines'' are characteristic Patagonian wet meadows. The objectives of this study were to describe plant community composition in the main mallines in northern Patagonia and to determine the influence of selected environmental variables on the distribution of vegetation. Fifty-two sites were selected for vegetation surveys and measurements of water table (WT) depth, soil pH, electric conductivity (EC), and mean annual precipitation. We performed cluster analysis for vegetation classification and correspondence analysis (CA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) for vegetation ordination. Plant composition was mostly related to both environmental variables and longitude and that it was not possible to disentangle the two (i.e. the vegetation was spatially structured). We defined three plant communities that differed along two main environmental gradients. The main gradient operates on a regional scale and is determined, from west to east, by a decrease in mean annual precipitation and an increase in the depth of the WT, soil pH, and EC. The secondary gradient operates on a site scale and is determined by topographic features inside the mallín and their influence on the hydrological regime (increasing moisture from the border towards the center). This second gradient allowed us to distinguish two plant communities, one of wet characteristics in the centers of the mallín, and another of mesic characteristics along the borders of the mallín.

Distribution patterns of plant communities and their associations with environmental soil factors on the eastern shore of Lake Taihu, China

“…Ordination methods applied to plant communities can be divided into two types: direct and indirect (Zdravko 2005). Ordination theory has become an indispensable method in modern ecological vegetation studies because it objectively reflects the relationships between the spatial distribution of vegetation and environmental factors (Juan, Carlos, and Donaldo 2011). Canoco for Windows v4.5 was used in the CCA analysis to investigate the relationships between vegetation distribution and environmental factors.…”

“…Benning and Seastedt (1995) emphasized how vegetation patterns affected the soil moisture, nutrients, and other processes detailed. The relationship between vegetation and soil environmental factors has been widely discussed (Juan, Carlos, and Donaldo 2011;Mellado and Zamora 2015;Liu et al 2016;Lucie, Jana, and Zuzana 2016). Soil environmental factors have important effects on plant growth and reproduction.…”

Photosynthetic and water use characteristics in three natural secondary shrubs on Shell Islands, Shandong, China

“…However, some problems such as single shrub specie, unreasonable disposition, and selection of shrub species still exist in some areas. Currently people know little about some local shrub species and there is little research about water relationship of plant varieties (Namirembe et al 2009;Gaitán et al 2011;Encina et al 2012;Promis et al 2012). So, comparing their discrepancy of photosynthesis, transpiration, and zoology adjustability was the basis for providing a scientific basis for vegetation selection and reasonable disposal aiming at local land condition in the process of vegetation construction.…”

Physiological mechanism for the reduction in soil water in poplar (Populus deltoides) plantations in Dongting Lake wetlands

“…For example, poplar plantations have the potential to extract groundwater and to reduce the water table in wetland ecosystems (Migliavacca et al 2009). Excessive loss of soil water caused by tree plantations would influence community structure and ecosystem function (Gaitán et al 2011). However, compared to groundwater, soil moisture content can more closely reflect the water status of the rhizosphere of tree plantations, which is more important in terms of regulating species distribution, community composition, and biodiversity (Engelbrecht et al 2007;Gaitán et al 2011).…”

“…Excessive loss of soil water caused by tree plantations would influence community structure and ecosystem function (Gaitán et al 2011). However, compared to groundwater, soil moisture content can more closely reflect the water status of the rhizosphere of tree plantations, which is more important in terms of regulating species distribution, community composition, and biodiversity (Engelbrecht et al 2007;Gaitán et al 2011). To date, the effects of tree plantations on soil water status have remained far from clear.…”