An analysis of vegetation–environment relationships in Saskatchewan sloughs

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Abstract
This study examined the relationships between the distribution of herbaceous species and some of the major environmental factors in sloughs. Frequency distribution of species was studied in 64 stands. Environmental data, collected in 40 of these, included weekly readings of water level, fortnightly readings of pH and total dissolved solids in water, and texture and organic matter content of topsoil and subsoil. An association table of 24 leading dominants, arranged so that strongly associated species were close together, corresponded closely to their observed order along a moisture gradient. Environmental scalars were constructed to combine data on pH and total dissolved solids, as well as initial water depth and rate of water loss. The soil data showed very little association with species distribution. Synthetic scalars for water regime and for water chemistry were plotted against one another to obtain an arrangement of stands. Plotting the frequency distribution of the leading dominant species over the environmental arrangement of stands showed most of the species to be strongly affected by the water regime and somewhat less affected by salinity. A few were restricted to a very narrow range of one of these factors, while others flourished in all segments of the environment. The relationships suggested by this analysis are largely in agreement with those suggested by the vegetation analysis alone.

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