Soil-Vegetation Relationships in Hoz-e-Soltan Region of Qom Province, Iran

Abstract

The objective of this study was to find the effective soil variables on the distribution of vegetation types in Hoz-e-Soltan region. Study area was located in the saline region of Qom province. After delimitation the study area and determining plant types, sampling of soil and vegetation were done by randomized-systematic method. The area of quadrants was identified according to the minimal area procedure and the kind of plants distribution. Among vegetation properties, cover percentage and density were estimated quantitatively. Soil was sampled at 0-20 and 20-60 cm depths. Measured soil factors included texture, electrical conductivity (EC), acidity (pH), lime, soluble ions such as Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Cl^-, CO₃^2- and HCO₃^-. In order to find the relationship between soil factors and vegetation properties and also to determine the most effective factors on the distribution of plant types, multivariate procedures, i.e., principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were used. Results showed that there was a specific relationship between soil variables and plant types. The most effective factors on the separation of different communities were soil salinity and texture.