title: Relative influence of sediment variables on mangrove community assembly in Leizhou Peninsula, China.
abstract: Effective conservation of mangroves requires a complete understanding of vegetation structure and identification of the variables most important to their assembly. Using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) combined with variation partition, we determined the independent and joint effects of sediment variables, including physicochemical characteristics and heavy metals, on mangrove community assemblies in the overstory and understory in Leizhou Peninsula, China. The results indicated that the contributions of sediment physicochemical variables to community assembly were greater than were those of heavy metals, particularly in overstory vegetation. However, the independent contributions of heavy metals were higher in understory mangrove vegetation than in the overstory. The TOC, TP, and salinity of the sediment, distance from the coastline, and concentration of As were limiting factors for mangrove assembly in overstory vegetation, while understory vegetation may be affected to a greater degree by the distance from the coastline, electrical conductivity, and concentration of As and Pb in the sediment.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; Institute of Plant Nutrition and Resources, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, 100091, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. Electronic address: mkm@rcees.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Keming
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China.
authors.forename: Laiye
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qu
mesh_terms: D032407:Avicennia; D002681:China; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D054712:Salinity; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy
keywords: Canonical correspondence analysis; Heavy metal; Mangrove vegetation; Sediment physicochemical variables; Significant variables; Variation partitioning