Cover distributions of vascular plants in relation to soil chemistry and soil depth in a granite rock ecosystem

Abstract

The variability in the cover distribution of vascular plants, accounted for by soil chemical properties and soil depth, on a granite slope with shallow autochtonous soil in southeast Sweden was evaluated using multivariate statistical regression and graphical methods. Soil acidity and soil depth were, to an often high degree, able to account for the variability in the distributions of the ca. 30 most frequent species, including Rumex acetosella, Vincetoxicum hirundinaria, Filipendula vulgaris, Satureja acinos, Geranium columbinum, Silene rupestris, and Arenaria serpyllifolia. The best expression of soil acidity was pH-KCl, though exchangeable Ca and Al were also important measures of the soil-plant relationships. The Ca:Al ratio was inferior in this respect. Also exchangeable or acid soluble phosphate was significantly related to the distribution of several species, whereas soil organic matter content was almost unrelated.