Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data Using CANACO in Range Management (Case Study: Rangeland of Ravansar)

This research was conducted in range of Ravansar located in west of Iran. Relationship betweensoil factors and vegetation types was investigated. Four vegetation types including Artemisia aucheri,Agropyron cristatum, Trifolium sp, Poa bulbosa and Lotus corniculatus were studied. In each vegetation type,one rangeland was selected for vegetation evaluations. Within each vegetation type, two transects of ۱۰۰ mwere established by using randomized systematic sampling and in ten ۱-m۲ quadrates, canopy coverpercentages of different plant species were estimated. After digging ۱۶ soil profiles, at initial and end pointsof each transect, soil samples were taken from ۰-۲۵ cm depths and several chemical and physical soil propertieswere investigated. The soil properties evaluated were particulate organic carbon, particulate organic nitrogen,total organic carbon, total organic nitrogen, texture, lime, available phosphorous, pH, EC, saturation moisturecontent, real density, bulk density, porosity and gypsum. In order to find the relationship between soil factorsand vegetation properties, multivariate techniques including Detergent Corresponding Analysis (DCA) andPrincipal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to analyses the collected data. The results showed significantrelationship between some soil factors with first two PC axes, and also among different soil factors. Thedistribution of range types was most strongly controlled with some soil characteristics such as texture, pH,lime, soil moisture, and EC. In general, considering the habitat conditions, ecological needs and tolerancerange each plant species has a significant relation with soil proportions.

Keywords:

Multivariate analysis method , Principal component analysis , Soil properties