Investigation of some effective edaphic factors on plant group's separation in the coastal area (Study area: Deyalm, North of Persian Gulf)

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between vegetation and soil factors on the shores of Bandar Deylam located in the Persian Gulf. This area is part of the Gulf-Omani vegetation area and has received less attention.

Plant types were distinguished by physiognomic methods and vegetation sampling was done in 120 plots (2m2) by calculating of vegetation cover. Two ordination techniques including de-trended correspondence analysis (DCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were applied to examine the relationships between vegetation and edaphic factors.

Six plant types according to dominant species were Halocnemum strobilaceum, Halocnemum strobilaceum - Plantago cylindrica, Halocnemum strobilaceum - Aeluropus lagopoides near ebb and flow region of sea and Gymnocarpos decander - Platychaete mucronifolia, Halothamnus iranicus - Astragalus fasciculifolius, Arthrocnemum macrostachyum far from sea cost. In each plant type soil sampling was done by digging five profiles randomly. Finally, 66 species representing 22 families were collected. The largest families were Poaceae, Asteraceae, Chenopoiaceae, and Papilionaceae, representing 16.7%, 13.6%, 10.6% and 10.6% of the total flora, respectively. Vegetation was classified using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), thereby producing four vegetation groups that were linked to habitat types.

According to results total variance in vegetation was 6.11 and the first two canonical axes accounted for 34.9% of the community-soil factor relationship among plant groups. As identified via CCA, the main gradients were Co3/HCo3 and EC, Gypsum and elevation that associated with soil texture remarkably.