Autecology and determination of relationships between nutrients in soil and sage plant (Salvia eremophila Boiss.) in the south of Yazd province

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the autecology and determine the relationship between the nutritional elements in the soil and the Sage plant (Salvia eremophila Boiss.) in the south of Yazd province. The main habitats were determined, which contained various ecological characteristics. Total potassium (K), total nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), total sugar content (TSC), and proline content of the plants were determined. In addition, macro and microelement contents such as total N, extractable K, extractable magnesium (Mg), available P, available iron (Fe), and available manganese (Mn) of the study areas were determined. The highest concentrations of TSC (72.90 mg kg⁻¹ ± 3.87) and TN (0.265 g kg⁻¹ ± 0.021) of the plant, and also the highest extractable Mg (26.60 mg kg⁻¹ ± 1.70) and available Fe (0.44 mg kg⁻¹ ± 0.19), of soil were related to the Qavam Abad habitat. The highest concentrations of total K (17.495 g kg⁻¹ ± 4.91) and total P (1.206 g kg⁻¹ ± 0.257) of plants, and the highest extractable K (356.68 g kg⁻¹ ± 63.53) of soil belonged to the Tang Chenar Station. The highest TN content (6.3 g kg⁻¹ ± 1.21) of soil and the highest proline content (0.015 g kg⁻¹ ± 0.003) of plants was related to the Damgahan habitat. Also, the concentrations of soil available Mn and available P had the highest levels in the Damgahan (0.60 g kg⁻¹ ± 0.34) and Qavam Abad habitats (0.075 g kg⁻¹ ± 30.74), respectively. There was no significant difference between the amount of nutrients and soil elements in the studied stations (p < 0.05). There was a positive and significant correlation between the amount of soil TN and plant TN (P_values = 0.001, R² = 0.87). An inverse and significant correlation was also observed between the amount of soil available P and plant total P (P_values = 0.014, R² = − 0.72). This study highlights the various environmental controls over soil’s physicochemical properties, which have significant implications for the management of soil nutrients.