Multivariate Procedures in an Investigation of Vegetation and Soil Relations of Two Beech Woodlands, Cotswold Hills, England

Vegetation and soil systems in two beechwoods were examined by measurements of variables at the same sites. Principal components analysis was used to generate hypotheses about the relationship between vegetation and soil which were tested by simple correlation of components and variables. Further information explaining the variation of the vegetation system was obtained by simple correlation with environmental data. Canonical correlation was used to relate the variables of the two systems directly and all together. The primary relationship between vegetation and soil was found to be in terms of soil—moisture variation. However, light variation associated with changing canopy quantity and slope variation were found also to affect both systems particularly through their effect on soil moisture.