Nematode Community Structure in Forest Woodlots. II. Ordination of Nematode Communities.

Intersite relationships among nematode communities of 18 Indiana mixed hardwood stands of varying composition, soils, physiography and past management practices were determined by community ordination techniques. All sites were sampled in April, July and October of 1968 and 1969, and ordinations were based on the number of individuals of each nematode species at each site at each sampling period. The resulting groupings correlated well with groupings based on forest types and successional stages of the tree communities at the sites, and also with groupings based on well-defined soil types. Results were similar to those obtained previously with a resemblance equation which used qualitative data only; but the present study provided more information on species associations and relationships and ecological distance between sites.