Survey of habitat and response pattern of Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) Guldenst to environmental factors in Isfahan province

Understanding the ecological characteristics of plant species and how they respond to environmental factors provides the information needed to manage vegetation and restore rangeland ecosystems. The aim of this study was to determine the environmental factors affecting the habitat of Krascheninnikovia ceratoides (L.) species and its response to changes in ecological factors in the rangelands of Isfahan province. Accordingly, canopy cover and density of K.ceratoides and the associated species were measured in 19 ecological sites using random systematic sampling method. In each site, climate, physiography and soil factors were identified. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) and Generalized Additive Models (GAM) using CANOC4.5 software were used to investigate the vegetation relationship with environmental factors. The results showed that the response pattern of K. ceratoides along the gradient of absorbable potassium follows the incremental model. Conversely, the response of this species along the gradient of sand percentage, average annual temperature and rock and gravel percentage has followed a decreasing model and with increasing these factors, the percentage of canopy cover has decreased. The response pattern of K. ceratoides along the changes of the amount of absorbed phosphorus, the percentage of gypsum and the altitude of the sea, follows the bell model (Unimodal), and its optimal growth limit for these factors is 10 mg kg-1, 6.4% and and 2250 meters. The study of K. ceratoides species response along the gradient of topographic, soil and climate factors provided valuable information to determine the ecological needs of this species that can be considered in vegetation management and rangeland improvement operations in similar areas.