The relationship between plant communities and environmental factors in the Tone river [Japan]

Riverside plant communities of the Tone River were studied to ascertain the relationships between these communities and environmental factors. The plant communities were surveyed using the plant sociological method. The land form, soil type, and the altitude of the each area were surveyed at the examination site. The inundation period, and the flow speed in a period of flooding, were estimated from water height records and a river flow survey recorded during a flood in 1981. Five plant communities were classified. Relationships between these plant communities and other environmental factors were then analyzed. The results of the analyses showed apparent correlation between plant communities and the inundation period, river flow speed during a flood, and the vertical land formation at places where plant communities were studied.