Abiotic Factors Influencing the Distribution of Vegetation in Coastal Estuary of the Liaohe Delta, Northeast China

There are divergent views about the dominant factors controlling vegetation distribution in coastal deltas. To determine the dominant factors controlling vegetation distribution, we explored the relationships between six abiotic factors (annual temperature, annual precipitation, soil organic matter, soil moisture, soil salinity, soil pH) and vegetation patterns along a belt transect throughout seven vegetation zones (bare beach, seepweed, common reed, meadow, rice, maize, woods) in the Liaohe Delta. The methods of data analysis included the Kriging interpolation method, grade-ranks method, correlation analysis, Euclidean distance analysis, and canonical correspondence analysis. Contrary to the view that climate controls vegetation pattern, our results suggested that climate had a limited influence on vegetation pattern. Edaphic factors were shown to exert the strongest influence on vegetation pattern, with soil salinity being identified as the dominant factor, followed by soil moisture, soil pH, and soil organic matter.