Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Multivariate analysis of plant communities in the Narok district, Kenya: The influence of environmental factors and human disturbance

  • Published:
Vegetatio Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Species type in 42 samples was examined using ordination analysis to establish whether the vegetation pattern displays gradation due to environmental factors, and whether the pattern was being altered by human disturbance. The analysis displayed two patterns. First, the ordination on axis 1 demonstrated vegetation gradation from xeric communities on the plains to humid forests on the highland. This pattern is explained on the basis of moisture and nutrient variations. Vegetation vectors based on species presence-absence were correlated with average rainfall, carbon, nitrogen and zinc.

The second was separation of disturbed and undisturbed forest and bushland site categories on axis 2 of the ordination space. This pattern suggests that disturbance response is interactive with moisture so that only in moist communities does a significant vegetation response to disturbance occur.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Belsky, A. J. 1987. Regeneration of natural and human-caused disturbances in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Vegetatio 70: 51–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boutton, T. W., Tiezen, L. L. & Imbamba, S. K. 1988. Biomass dynamics of grassland vegetation in Kenya, East Africa Afr. J. Ecol. 26: 89–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, D. H. S. & Gauch, G. H.Jr. 1986. Multivariate analysis of plant communities and environmental factors in Ngari, Tibet. Ecol. 67: 1568–1575.

    Google Scholar 

  • Digby, P. G. N. & Kempton, R. A. 1987. Multivariate Analysis of ecological Communities. Chapman and Hall, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dublin, H. T. 1986. Decline of the Mara woodlands: The role of fire and elephants. Ph.D. Thesis, University of British Colombia.

  • Gauch, H. G.Jr. 1982. Multivariate Analysis in community Ecology. Cambridge studies in ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gower, J. C. 1966a. Some distance properties of latent root and vector methods used in Multivariate analysis. Biometrika 53: 325–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gower, J. C. 1966b. A Q-techniques for the calculation of canonical variates. Biometrika 53: 588–589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greig-Smith, P. 1983. Quantitaive Plant Ecology, 3rd. ed. Butterworths, London, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths, G. H. 1985. Mapping rangelands vegetation in northern Kenya from Landsat data. Ph.D Thesis, University of Aston, Birmingham, UK.

  • Jaetzold, R. & Schmidt, H. 1983. Farm management Handbook of Kenya Vol. 11. Ministry of Agriculture, Nairobi, Kenya.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, J. R. & Belsky, A. J. 1989. Grassland homogeneity in Tsavo National Park (West), Kenya. Afr. J. Ecol. 27: 35–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karime, O. N. I. 1990. The changing Canduse patterns in the Ngorengore/Loita Plains. KREMU Techn. Report No. 135. Nairobi, Kenya.

  • Kershaw, K. A. & Looney, J. H. H. 1985. Quantitaive and Dynamic Plant Ecology, 3rd. ed. Edward Arnold.

  • Lamprey, R. H. 1984. Impact on Kenya savanna vegetation: A remote sensing approach. Ph.D Thesis Aston University, Birmingham, UK.

  • Msafiri, F. 1985. A vegetation map of Lolgorein area, Narok District. KREMU Technical Report No. 119, Nairobi, Kenya.

  • Mwichabe, S. 1986. Present Landuse of the Narok Area. Min. of Agric. NAL: Kenya Soil Survey misc. Report No. M31.

  • Norton-Grifiths, M., Herlocker, D. J. & Pennycuick, L. 1975. The patterns of rainfall in the Serengeti ecosystem. E. Afr. Wildl. J. 13: 347–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odenyo, V. 1979. Application of Landsat data to the study of Land and Range Resource Management in the Narok area, Kenya. Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing.

  • Ogutu, Z.A. 1991. Human disturbances and vegetation dynamics in the Narok District, Kenya. Ph.D Thesis, Edinburgh University, UK.

  • Sinclair, A. R. E. 1979. The Serengeti environment. In: Sinclair, A. R. E. & Griffiths, M. (eds) SERENGETI Dynamics of an Ecosystem. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skarpe, C. 1990. Structure of the woody vegetation in disturbed and undisturbed arid savanna, Botswana. Vegetatio 87: 11–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taiti, S. W. 1973. A vegetation survey of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Narok District, Kenya. Msc Thesis. University of Nairobi, Kenya.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya

    Z. A. Ogutu

Authors
  1. Z. A. Ogutu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ogutu, Z.A. Multivariate analysis of plant communities in the Narok district, Kenya: The influence of environmental factors and human disturbance. Vegetatio 126, 181–189 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045603

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045603

Key words

Search

Navigation