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| Publication Type | J |
| Authors | Cantero, J. J., J. M. Cisneros, M. Zobel and A. Cantero |
| Title | Environmental relationships of vegetation. Patterns in saltmarshes of central Argentina |
| Source | Folia Geobotanica |
| Author Keywords | cluster analysis groundwater ordination salinity vegetation-environment relationships salt-marsh halophytes |
| Abstract | We describe vegetation-environment relationships in the saltmarshes of central Argentina. Gradient analysis (Detrended canonical correspondence analysis, DCCA) was performed involving 14 parameters of the groundwater that account for most of the variation in plant communities. We used a stepwise multivariate procedure to classify the vegetation data into 8 clusters, named according to the most abundant characteristic species: Chloris canterai, Cynodon dactylon, Distichlis spicata, Spartina densiflora and Paspalum vaginatum clusters, containing releves of tall grassland communities, and Atriplex undulata, Cyclolepis genistoides and Heterostachys ritteriana clusters, containing releves from scrub. Our interpretation of DCCA ordinations suggests that vegetation pattern is primarily related to a salinity-moisture gradient. There is a strong relationship between vegetation type and the amount of salt in the groundwater and the pattern of its variation during the year. The depth of the groundwater and the conditions of submersion are also related to the compositional variation of the vegetation. Although flooding causes some differences between sites, the most important discriminant variable, and therefore the best predictor of floristic variation, is salinization. |
| Author Address | Univ Nacl Rio Cuarto, Fac Agr & Vet, RA-5800 Rio Cuarto, Argentina Tartu State Univ, Dept Bot & Ecol, EE-2400 Tartu, Estonia Cantero, JJ (reprint author), Univ Nacl Rio Cuarto, Fac Agr & Vet, Estafeta Postal 9, RA-5800 Rio Cuarto, Argentina |
| ISSN | 0015-5551 |
| ISBN | 0015-5551 |
| 29-Character Source Abbreviation | Folia Geobot. |
| Year Published | 1998 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Beginning Page | 133-145 |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | 10.1007/bf02913341 |
| Unique Article Identifier | WOS:000075941300002 |
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