APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, cilt.18, sa.1, ss.173-183, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
This study was conducted to determine the relationships between woody plant species alpha diversity (alpha) and environmental factors in Dedegol (Yenisarbademli) Mountain area. The research data obtained from 103 sampling plots after the land inventory study was used to calculate the diversity variables. The coverage area and habitat characteristics of woody plant species in each sampling plot were recorded during the field work. Clustering analysis (CLA) was used to group the sampling plots base on the vegetation data matrix. Correspondence Analysis (CA) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) from the ordination techniques were applied in the study to the vegetation matrix in order to determine the distribution degree of the sampling plots on the ordination axis. As a result of the CA applied, surface stoniness was found to be the environmental factor that had the highest correlation. In conclusion, surface stoniness was found to have an important impact on the vegetation distribution. Furthermore, canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was applied at the final stage of the study. In conclusion, Shannon-Wiener was the most effective index to calculate the alpha species diversity while surface stoniness and elevation were the most explanatory variables for alpha species diversity in the study site.