Ebrahim Atarod; Qodratollah Heydari; Jamshid Ghorbani; Alibeman Mirjalili
Volume 29, Issue 4 , January 2023, , Pages 627-643
Abstract
In the rural society, various factors play a role in the participation of local communities in the conservation of natural resources. Among them stakeholders have the central role as participation plays an important role. Natural resources are considered as one of the main economical sources and their ...
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In the rural society, various factors play a role in the participation of local communities in the conservation of natural resources. Among them stakeholders have the central role as participation plays an important role. Natural resources are considered as one of the main economical sources and their restoration and conservation are considered as the base for human activities for the current and future generations. These factors include social factors, economical factors and cultural factors, which are known as norms. Most experts believe that participation is the main and determining factor in the process of growth and development in developed and developing societies. Therefore, in order to prevent the degradation of rangelands, a comprehensive plan must be designed by various organizations and departments to monitor the exploitation and utilization of rangelands and this depends on the participation of the stakeholders. In order to protect and restore rangelands, organizations must be aware of the norms that affect local collaborative behaviors. The aim of this study is to identify the norms that influence the pastoralists participation and to determine the contribution of each of their components in the conservation of Nodushan rangelands, Yazd province. In this study we assessed the impact of norms including social, economical and cultural factors as independent variables on the amount of pastoralists participation as a dependent variable. The method was descriptive-analytical in the form of a questionnaire based on a five-option Likert scale. The sample size included 104 pastoralists and random sampling. After checking the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, the path analysis method was used to rank the independent variables. The results showed that the social factor with 0.857, the economic factor with 0.633 and the cultural factor with 0.144 had the greatest total impact and also the direct and indirect impact on the pastoralists' participation. The method of exploitation in rangelands, the amount of income of pastoralists, and the awareness and experience of pastoralists had the first priority. Spearman's correlation coefficient between independent variables and pastoralists' participation showed that the social factor and the economical factor have a positive and significant correlation coefficient with the dependent variable of pastoralists' participation. Therefore, it was suggested that the social and economical factors should be considered as the most important indicators of attracting pastoralists participation in planning for restoration of rangelands.
Parviz Gholami; Jamshid ghorbani; Maryam Shokri; MOstafa Tarkesh; Nosratollah Safaeian
Volume 24, Issue 4 , January 2018, , Pages 870-880
Abstract
Stachys byzantina is one the major increaser species in rangelands of north face of Alborz Mountain in Mazandaran province. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of its invasion on vegetation under some disturbances in Vaz Chamestan summer rangelands in Mazandaran ...
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Stachys byzantina is one the major increaser species in rangelands of north face of Alborz Mountain in Mazandaran province. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of its invasion on vegetation under some disturbances in Vaz Chamestan summer rangelands in Mazandaran province. Vegetation sampling was carried out in exclosure, and invaded rangelands including abandoned dryland, moderate grazing and heavy grazing sites. The vegetation and some characteristics of Stachys were sampled in 1 m2 quadrates along transects. The results showed that Stachys byzantina had greater quantities in abandoned dryland and rangelands under moderate grazing. The cover percentage of total perennials, perennial grasses and forbs significantly reduced from exclosure to heavy grazing and abandoned dryland. Total annuals plants, annual grasses and forbs significantly increased in abandoned dryland. A significant negative correlation was found between cover percentage of perennials and the cover and density of Stachys byzantina. Moreover, the forage production of forbs was negatively correlated withthe cover and density of Stachys byzantina. Multivariate analysis showed that species composition significantly changed under invasion, showing a reduction for palatable species.
sara Heshmati; Jamshid Ghorbani; Maryam shokri; Hasan zali
Volume 23, Issue 4 , March 2017, , Pages 772-784
Abstract
Seasonal variation in seed bank impacts vegetation dynamic. The purpose of this study was to determine the changes of soil seed bank during the growing season. This study was carried out in a summer grassland in the northern slopes of Alborz Mountain, SorkhAbad, Savadkoh in Mazandaran province, Iran. ...
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Seasonal variation in seed bank impacts vegetation dynamic. The purpose of this study was to determine the changes of soil seed bank during the growing season. This study was carried out in a summer grassland in the northern slopes of Alborz Mountain, SorkhAbad, Savadkoh in Mazandaran province, Iran. Sampling was done in March, May, August and October 2010 from two soil depths (0-5 and 5-10 cm). Seed bank composition and size were determined by seed germination of soil samples in glasshouse for 11 months. In this study, 76 species were identified in the soil seed bank during the growing season. In all months, seed density was greater in the upper soil layer than that in lower soil depth. The seed bank in summer (August) and autumn (October) had the maximum seed density. Significant temporal changes were found in the seed bank of 21 species. The seed bank of Thlaspi sp. , Stellaria media, Fumaria sp., Poa bulbosa, Alyssum sp., Thlaspi hastulatum, Hieracium sp. and Myosotis silvatica significantly increased during growing season while a significant reduction was found in the seed bank of Sonchus oleraceus, Cynodon dactylon, Carex sp., Potentilla canescense, Digitaria sanguinalis, Taraxacum montanum, and Dactylis glomerata.For some species such as Medicago lupulina, Agropyron repens, Veronica persica, Stachys byzantine, Tragopogon sp., and Bromus sp. soil seed banks showed a peak and then significantly declined.
jasem yousefi; jamshid ghorbani; maryam shokri; seyed hasan zali
Volume 22, Issue 4 , March 2015, , Pages 757-767
Abstract
Seed production and dispersal are important topics in grassland management as they influence the vegetation structure and dynamics. To understand and better interpretation of changes in vegetation, it needs to identify the species composition in other sources such as the soil seed bank and seed rain. ...
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Seed production and dispersal are important topics in grassland management as they influence the vegetation structure and dynamics. To understand and better interpretation of changes in vegetation, it needs to identify the species composition in other sources such as the soil seed bank and seed rain. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential of seed production and seed dispersal in Sorkh-Abad grassland in SavadKoh, Mazandaran province. During growing season, mature seeds of the plants were collected and then identified and counted in laboratory. For these seeds, some properties were determined such as seed shape, seed weight, and germination percentage and seed color. Seed dispersal (seed rain) was sampled in seed traps, made by small plastic pots. During growing season, in three times, these seed traps were collected and all seeds were identified and counted. Results showed that18 species were in seed production and 17 species in seeds dispersal. The average amount of seed production was 296 seeds per square meter of which 25% belonged to Germaineae. The potential of seed dispersal was 275 seeds per square meter. Most collected seeds were light and small with elongated shape and bright colors. Stachys byzanthina, Marrubium vulgare, Descurainia sophia and Medicago lupulina comprise45% of the seed production. Similarly, the 46% of the seed dispersal was made by Stachys byzanthina, Plantago lanceolata, Descurainia sophia and Medicago lupulina. Small numbers of species in standing vegetation were found in seed production and seed rain of this grassland.
Zeinab Jafarian; Mansoureh Kargar; Jamshid Ghorbani
Volume 21, Issue 2 , August 2014, , Pages 234-236
Abstract
Spatial variability and heterogeneous geographical distribution of soil physical and chemical properties in rangeland ecosystems are affected by physical and biological factors including different managements, soil microclimate and topography, leading to the vegetation changes. Therefore, this research ...
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Spatial variability and heterogeneous geographical distribution of soil physical and chemical properties in rangeland ecosystems are affected by physical and biological factors including different managements, soil microclimate and topography, leading to the vegetation changes. Therefore, this research was aimed to study the spatial variability of production, density and canopy cover of Artemisia aucheri in the line with some soil properties variability in Vavsar rangelands of Kiasar. The sampling method was random-systematic. A total of five transects of 100m length were selected in the study area with a distance of 100m on which 10 plots of 2m2 were established with a distance of 10m. Soil samples were taken from a depth of 0-15 in each plot. In addition, production, density and canopy cover of Artemisia aucheri were measured in each plot. According to the results of geostatistical analysis in GS+ software, the percentage of clay and the density of Artemisia aucheri, showed the highest variation coefficients with the values of 82% and 53%, respectively. The variograms' amplitude varied from 196.2m for production to 910m for the percentage of moisture, lime, EC, and canopy cover. According to the results of cross validation, the models of lime percentage, density and production of Artemisia aucheri showed spatial correlation, and, consequently, had higher accuracy to be used in Kiriging interpolation.
Parviz Gholami; Jamshid Ghorbani; Maryam Shokri
Volume 20, Issue 4 , March 2014, , Pages 745-755
Fatemeh Salarian; Jamshid Ghorbani; Nosrat Allah Safaeian
Volume 20, Issue 1 , June 2013, , Pages 115-129
Abstract
Grazing animals affect rangeland vegetation structure and function directly and indirectly. These effects can be assessed in exclosures. In this study, the vegetation composition and some vegetation indices (functional groups, biomass, species diversity and richness) were compared in an exclosure (livestock ...
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Grazing animals affect rangeland vegetation structure and function directly and indirectly. These effects can be assessed in exclosures. In this study, the vegetation composition and some vegetation indices (functional groups, biomass, species diversity and richness) were compared in an exclosure (livestock excluded for about 10 years) and grazed areas in Chahar Bagh rangeland in Golestan province. The percentage of canopy cover, stone and gravel, bare ground, litter and the biomass were estimated in quadrates of 1 m2. Results showed that there were 34 species common in both areas while 7 and 11 species were restricted to exclosure and grazed areas, respectively. Results of t-test showed that exclosure significantly increased the percentage of canopy cover of some desirable species such as Agropyron intermedium, A. trichophorum, Festuca ovina. Also, the percentage of canopy cover of hemicryptophyte, grasses, forbs, and perennials significantly increased in exclosure area. Moreover, Simpson diversity index and species number significantly increased in exclosure. The biomass of grasses and total biomass also significantly increased from grazed area to exclosure. According to the results, exclosure for less than ten years could cause some changes in vegetation of this rangeland.
Golnaz Rokhfirooz; Jamshid Qorbani; Maryam Shokri; Zianab Jafarian
Volume 18, Issue 2 , September 2011, , Pages 322-335
Abstract
Evaluation of changes in rangeland ecosystem after rehabilitation and restoration projects is important to determine the positive or negative effects of these projects. Parts of species composition in rangelands are in the soil seed bank as living seeds which are a potential for regeneration. Management ...
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Evaluation of changes in rangeland ecosystem after rehabilitation and restoration projects is important to determine the positive or negative effects of these projects. Parts of species composition in rangelands are in the soil seed bank as living seeds which are a potential for regeneration. Management and environmental factors may change the soil seed bank. This Study was carried out in mountain rangelands in Kabir watershed in Mazandaran province. A restoration project was done in this area 7 years ago and this study aimed to assess the effect of this project on soil seed bank. Soil was sampled random-systematically in control and restoration sites (210 samples) from 0-5 and 5-10 cm depths. Then seed bank composition was identified after seed germination in greenhouse. The results of this study showed that there were 38 species in soil seed bank whereas 71 species were existent in vegetation. Only 16 species were common between seed bank and vegetation. We found greater species diversity and richness in vegetation than that of soil seed bank. Only 18 species were common in the soil seed bank of control and restoration sites. Seventeen species were restricted to the seed bank of restored site. Among common species between soil seed bank of two sites, the project significantly influenced the seed bank of two species. Also, the restoration project significantly increased the richness and diversity of soil seed bank. Some species were unique to the specific soil depth. The results of this study showed that the soil seed bank would be altered by restoration and rehabilitation project and this depended on vegetation change due to restoration, type of treatment and time since project was performed.