The relationships between plant zonation and edaphic factors in halophytic vegetation around Lake Tuz, Central Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract

The zonation pattern of halophytic species around Lake Tuz (Central Anatolia-Turkey) was determined according to the chemical properties of soil samples via seasonal evaluation. the most dominant ions at soils around Lake Tuz are soluble Na+ and Cl-. According to ANOVA results, the edaphic factors that show statistically important difference between zones with respect to seasons are as follows: percentage of total soluble salt, Ca2+ and Cl- (p < 0.05) and pH, EC, Mg2+, Na+, total cations and SO42- (p < 0.01) for spring, percentage of total soluble salt and Mg2+ (p < 0.05) and pH, EC, Na+, total cations, Cl(-)and sodium adsorption ratio (p < 0.01) for summer, and percentage of total soluble salt and Ca2+ (p < 0.05) and pH, EC, Na+, Mg2+, total cations and Cl- (p < 0.01) for fall. Canonical correspondence analysis was applied to find out the factors that are most effective on zonation, and the key factors that explain the zonation pattern are pH, Na+, and Cl-.