Trends and interrelationships in boreal wetland vegetation

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Abstract
Multivariate statistical methods were used to examine trends and interrelationships in 132 wetland stands at the southern edge of the boreal forest near Elk Lake, Ont., Canada. A total of nine vegetation types and seven species groups were recognized using cluster analysis. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination of the stands indicated the underlying importance of nutrient status to the development of trends in vegetational variation. However, other factors such as the nature of the substratum, degree and periodicity of flooding, drainage, and water table level also appeared to be important. Analysis of the correspondence between vegetation types and species ecological groups indicated a trend toward the development of one-to-one relationships, suggesting that boreal wetlands may best be described as a series of relatively discrete communities. It is also suggested that species indicator values may be useful in characterizing boreal wetland stands.