بررسي ارتباط متقابل خواص فيزيكي و شيميايي خاك با گونه هاي غالب مرتعي منطقه مهرزمين قم

Relationship of Soil Physical and Chemical Characteristics with Dominant Range Plant Species in Mehrzamin Region of Qom Province

Relationship between plant and soil is of special importance because it is possible to establish a judgment on one by considering the other. This research was carried out to find the relationship of vegetation cover with soil physical and chemical characteristics in semi steppe rangeland of Mehrzamin region in Qom province. According to the distribution of vegetation cover and based on field surveys, nine vegetation types were distinguished. To study vegetation in each type, fifteen 1 m2 quadrats were established. Within each quadrat, canopy cover belonging to each species was recorded. For each dominant species, four profiles were dug and soil samples being taken from two topsoil and subsoil horizons. In the next stage, soil characteristics such as pH, Ece, CaC03, amount of potassium, organic matter, rock and pavement as well as texture were determined in a soil laboratory. After collecting the data, multiple regression analysis, correlation coefficients and factor analysis were done or obtained using SPSS Win, Mstat and SAS software packages. The results of simple correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis of soil properties with cover of dominant plant species showed that among different soil properties, depth of horizon and amount of potassium exhibited the highest correlation while electrical conductivity was of the lowest correlation with dominant plantsʹ crown cover.