Four discriminant functions were constructed and 21 environmental variables (Table 4) were selected from the input list of 33 possible determining variables (Appendix 1) in order to explain the variation among five hotspots. Table 4 Summary of the stepwise discriminant analysis Factor loadings DF 1 DF 2 DF 3 DF 4 Precipitation surplus −0.224 −0.095 0.198 0.539 Relative humidity in spring 0.335 −0.338 0.341 0.297 Amount of radiation 0.723 −0.097 −0.156 −0.106 Duration of sunshine 0.533 −0.29 0.175 0.18 Temperature 0.276 0.152 −0.247 −0.441 Elevation −0.043 0.672 −0.169 0.223 Groundwater selleckchem table in spring −0.081
0.429 −0.326 0.392 Salinity 0.258 −0.264 0.16 0.066 pH 0.415 0.083 this website 0.273 −0.431 Nitrogen deposition −0.337 0.095 −0.275 −0.409 Non-calcareous loam 0.177 0.756 0.081 0.181 Calcareous sandy soils 0.395 −0.167 −0.227 0.137 Non-calcareous clay 0.116 0.032 0.276 −0.128 Calcareous clay 0.097 −0.053 0.059 −0.128 Peat soil 0.017 −0.109 0.579 −0.091 Rich sandy soils −0.265 −0.022 −0.306
−0.171 Coniferous forest −0.223 −0.039 −0.194 0.338 Freshwater 0.107 −0.069 0.437 −0.216 Agricultural areas −0.104 0.043 0.189 −0.247 Marsh 0.056 −0.055 0.345 −0.115 Fen areas 0.013 −0.017 0.116 −0.052 Region Centroid DF 1 DF 2 DF 3 DF 4 DUNE 4.503 −1.469 −1.146 0.495 FEN 0.713 −0.703 2.095 −0.449 SAND −1.292 −0.31 −0.098 1.015 SE −0.636 0.245 −0.704 −0.987 LIMB 2.276 7.228 0.5 0.715 Factor loadings indicate the degree of correlation of the environmental variables with the discriminant functions (DF). High factor loadings (>0.4 or <−0.4) beta-catenin inhibitor are given in bold. The position of the centroid (the point that represents the means for all variables in the multivariate space defined by the model) of each region is indicated relative to each discriminant function The first discriminant function indicates that there is a big PKC inhibitor difference between the DUNE and LIMB regions
on the one hand and the SAND and SE regions on the other. This difference is marked by the higher amount of radiation the DUNE and LIMB regions receive on an annual basis, as well as by the higher pH of associated soils. The DUNE region clearly stands out, as it receives more sunshine annually than the other regions (see Appendix 1, Table 5). Higher elevation, a high percentage of non-calcareous loamy soils, and the low groundwater level in spring imply that the second function separates LIMB from all other regions. The third function isolates the FEN region from the others, as a large proportion of the grid squares that make up the FEN region consist of freshwater and the grid squares are largely situated on peat soil. The fourth function is less robust but separates the SAND from the SE region.