Abstract
Mangrove vegetation and soil were analysed with a view to understanding the community structure and soil relationship in mangrove ecosystems. Coverage values of all plants, frequency, density and basal area for trees were obtained. Soil properties measured included pH, field moisture, bulk density, organic carbon, Al3+, SO4 2- and Cl-. Principal components ordination of the vegetation data established six mixed mangrove community types. All soil properties varied significantly between the community types, but was most marked in the cases of CO3 2- and SO4 2+. Several tree species showed variation in dominance and density across the community types. Rank correlation of soil with vegetation ordination axes revealed greater correlation along Axis 1 than higher order axes. Soil Cl- was observed to markedly correlate with hyperspace locations of Nypa fruticans, Avicennia africana, Rhizophora mangle and Acrostichum aureum communities. Soil classification showed that several soil properties could serve as indicators for community type differentiation. Additional environmental factors influencing mangrove distribution were inferred from the ordination patterns.
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Ukpong, I.E. An ordination study of mangrove swamp communities in West Africa. Vegetatio 116, 147–159 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045305
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045305