Abstract:Eighteen plant communities were surveyed by quaduats in the north shore of Qinghai Lake. The communities were analyzed using PCA (principal component analysis) ordination and regression procedure to determine the distribution patterns of the plant communities and relationship between the communities and environmental factors. The results showed that the distribution of the plant communities were closely related to the moisture and salt content of soil. The correlation between species diversity or ecological dominance of the communities and gradient of environmental factors was not significant, but the two indexes of community showed multivarient line relationship with the first principal component, or the gradient of soil water, and the regression model as below: Y =- 4.85 4–1.47X1 4- 10.71X2 (P<0. 01).