Yaser Ghasemi Aryan; Hosein Azarnivand; Javad Motamedi; Firoozeh Moghiminejad
Volume 31, Issue 1 , June 2024, , Pages 15-27
Abstract
Background and objectivesRangeland management is the science and art of range management and administration, which requires technical and managerial foundations in decision-making and planning to protection, reclamation and sustainably use it, in parallel with each other and in accordance with the range ...
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Background and objectivesRangeland management is the science and art of range management and administration, which requires technical and managerial foundations in decision-making and planning to protection, reclamation and sustainably use it, in parallel with each other and in accordance with the range ecological conditions and beneficiary's socio-economic conditions, especially the pastoralists, should be considered. In the technical basics section, there are always several key projects, including planting, plowing, grazing management, Inter Seeding, Seeding, fertilizing, pitting, ripping, and contour furrowing, each of which has criteria and indicators. Has its own characteristics. Considering the vast area and variety of physiography and geomorphology of the rangelands, any tool that can help experts in selecting improvement and restoration projects by combining indicators can be useful. The purpose of this research is to use the geographic information system to locate suitable areas for range improvement and management projects in the Chahtalkh watershed. MethodologyFor this purpose, based on the range condition and range condition trend, a range method was developed for each plant types. For types with excellent to good condition, equilibrium method was recommended, and for types with moderate condition, natural method and consequently grazing systems were recommended. Artificial or improvement range management, were considered for types that were poor and very poor. In the next step, the homogeneous baseline maps were prepared by combining altitude, slope and direction maps. Subsequently, the homogeneous layer was combined with plant types layer and the final homogeneous units. Based on the rangeland condition and suitability yield of plant types, geological maps, soil characteristics, iso-therms, iso-rain and water resources, the characteristics of each homogeneous unit were extracted in GIS environment. Considering effective ecological and environmental criteria and indices to perform range improvement and management operations and to match the characteristics of each homogenous unit, the type of rangeland management and management operations in each homogenous unit was proposed and based on this, a round map was prepared. Finally, by superimposing the map of range improvement and management operations and customary systems, the range management model of the region was presented. ResultsAccording to the results, a wide range of rangelands have poor and very poor conditions that require artificial range management. The resulting management model showed that in 10.6% of rangelands, contour farro, in 8.3%, pitting and in 5.9%, ripping is recommended. In 29.3% of rangelands, grazing management and in 14.6% prevent livestock from entering (exclosure) are recommended. ConclusionThe model presented in the Chah Talkh watershed, which was obtained by combining the layers of RANGE condition and range condition trend, suitability yield of plant types, land use, soil texture and depth, elevation class, slope and direction, temperature and rainfall lines, and the map of customary systems, can play a significant role in provide a comprehensive and all-round management. The model enables quick and easy access to all ecological and environmental criteria and environmental parameters for effective range improvement and range management. In this regard, weighting indicators and using multi-variable decision-making tools can play an important role in more precisely choosing suitable places for range improvement and revitalization projects.
Ali Farahani; Ali Tavili; Hosein Arzani; Hosein Azarnivand; Aliashraf Jafari
Volume 30, Issue 2 , September 2023, , Pages 214-229
Abstract
Background and objectives The germination and establishment of plants resistant to drought is one of the most important and effective aspects of rangeland improvement. Investigating changes in rangeland species' morphological and physiological characteristics under different pretreatments under ...
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Background and objectives The germination and establishment of plants resistant to drought is one of the most important and effective aspects of rangeland improvement. Investigating changes in rangeland species' morphological and physiological characteristics under different pretreatments under laboratory, greenhouse, and field conditions is necessary. As a result, elite and promising species can be selected, and improvement efforts can be evaluated favorably. Methodology This study investigated the effect of different pretreatments on the germination and establishment of Sanguisorba minor and Elymus hispidus under drought stress. In this regard, the effect of priming treatments with distilled water, polyethylene glycol, potassium nitrate, and silver nanoparticles was studied to improve germination characteristics and establishment of species under agricultural capacity. The experiment was conducted as a factorial in a randomized complete block design in four replications. To conduct the research, 168 pots were used, and ten seeds were planted in each pot. The measured attributes included the percentage and velocity of seedling appearance from the soil, establishment and survival, length and weight of root and stem, vigor, proline, carotenoid, soluble sugar, total chlorophyll, catalase, and superoxide dismutase enzymes. After sampling the studied traits in the greenhouse and obtaining the results in the laboratory, variance and data analysis in SPSS software. A comparison of mean data with Duncan's multiple range tests at a 5% level for the studied traits was performed on both species. Results The results showed that drought stress significantly differs in characteristics, such as the dry weight of aerial parts or the length of plant roots. The mutual effects of priming and stress were significant on the traits of emergence from the soil, speed of emergence, establishment, survival, and dry weight of aerial parts. Still, it affected several other traits as well. The application of silver nanoparticles had positive or negative effects on seeds' vegetative characteristics, and seedlings grown from the seeds of the studied plants did not show significant changes to characteristics such as plant root length under different priming treatments at a specific moisture level. Some characteristics, including ability, had significant changes due to humidity levels varying up to 20 percent. The positive effects of polyethylene treatment and the negative effects of high nanoparticle concentration were evident. Applying polyethylene glycol and potassium nitrate in E. hispidus and polyethylene glycol and silver nanoparticles at a concentration of 30 mg/l in S. minor showed the highest positive effects on plant resistance under drought stress. Application of silver nanoparticles at concentrations of 60 and 90 mg/L showed negative effects on the vegetative and physiological characteristics of the two studied species. Conclusion drought stress caused negative effects on the structural characteristics of the studied species, and using hydropriming treatments, potassium nitrate, polyethylene glycol, and silver nanoparticles (with a concentration of 30 mg/liter) reduced stress adverse effects. The reason for this is mainly the changes in the physiological factors, such as the amount of proline, catalase, and superoxide dismutase enzymes, and the application of various pretreatments causes positive changes in pretreatment factors and increases the species' drought resistance. The results related to the effect of different pretreatments on the germination of the mentioned species under laboratory and field conditions also confirm this issue.
Hamed Eskandari Damaneh; Gholamreza Zehtabian; Hassan Khosravi; Hosein Azarnivand; Aliakbar Barati
Volume 28, Issue 3 , October 2021, , Pages 520-536
Abstract
In the present study, the existing land uses in the Minab plain were simulated using the CA-Markov combined method. For this purpose, land use maps for the years 2000, 2010 and 2020 were generated using Landsat satellite images using the maximum probability classification method and after evaluating ...
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In the present study, the existing land uses in the Minab plain were simulated using the CA-Markov combined method. For this purpose, land use maps for the years 2000, 2010 and 2020 were generated using Landsat satellite images using the maximum probability classification method and after evaluating the model, the land use map for 2030 and 2040 was predicted using the combined CA-Markov method. Analysis of land use change patterns in Minab plain showed that during the statistical period 2000-2020 in the level of land uses in this area has changed significantly so that during this 20-year period the area of agricultural land use, urban and man-made areas, saline lands and rangelands and barren lands respectively from 38.91, 25.99, 20.09 and 15 % in 2000 to 40.75, 40.02, 12.44 and 6.80 percent in 2020. Evaluation of the model using kappa index above 90% indicates the high accuracy of the model for predicting land uses. Prediction of changes in 2030 and 2040 show that the use of agricultural lands and urban areas and man-made are increasing at a rate of 0.05 and 0.39 %, respectively, which are advancing from the east of the plain to the west; Meanwhile, the uses of saline areas, rangelands and barren lands are decreasing at a rate of 0.44%, which is more evident in the west and northwest of this plain. Finally, one of the most important executive strategies of planners and officials to prevent land use change and ultimately land degradation in this area, can be to improve the cultivation pattern, new irrigation methods, nourish the bed of this plain and maintain and restore native vegetation.
Adeleh Khavar; mehdi ghorbani; Hosein Azarnivand; Amir Alambaigi; Shahram Khalighi Sigaroudi
Volume 28, Issue 2 , June 2021, , Pages 369-380
Abstract
One of the requirements for implementing natural resource governance and empowerment of rangeland users is the analysis of social relations in the social network of users. In this research, the analysis of the social network of rangeland users with an emphasis on the links of trust, participation, and ...
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One of the requirements for implementing natural resource governance and empowerment of rangeland users is the analysis of social relations in the social network of users. In this research, the analysis of the social network of rangeland users with an emphasis on the links of trust, participation, and consultation in rangeland management measures was compared with the calculation of macro-level indicators of the network in the three customary systems of Fasanqar, Parvand, and Malvand. Also, the complete network method (census) has been used, and in three customary systems, all rangeland users, including 100 people, have been considered a statistical population. The results show that among the users of the customary system, the amount of social capital, stability of relations, and network balance with a density of 50.8% on average and consultation between them with a rate of 43.8 and 40.5 for the two villages Malvand and Fasanqar are poorly institutionalized. Low social capital and low turnover of trust, participation and consultation between the users of these two villages are important challenges in creating a participatory management structure, and consequently, improving rangeland governance in these areas and the need to further strengthen social capital by increasing building trust in the network and creating the desire of users of all three customary systems to participate in rangeland activities to create success in rangeland governance. However, in the two villages of Malvand and Fasanqar, there is a need to further strengthen social relations and increase social capital compared to the Parvand village.
Yaser GHasemi Arian; Hosein Azarnivand; Ali Tavili
Volume 28, Issue 1 , April 2021, , Pages 82-92
Abstract
The search for the technical perspectives of the country's natural resources management depicts the important fact that management approaches play a very important role in the protection, rehabilitation, and sustainable use of these resources. In this regard, the present study was conducted ...
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The search for the technical perspectives of the country's natural resources management depicts the important fact that management approaches play a very important role in the protection, rehabilitation, and sustainable use of these resources. In this regard, the present study was conducted to evaluate and compare the ecological indicators of rehabilitated rangelands under two types of ecological-oriented and socio-ecological-oriented management approaches. For this purpose, the international carbon sequestration project and the desertification project of Sarbisheh plain were selected as two projects with socio-ecological-oriented and ecological-oriented management approaches, respectively. Then, in the executive scope of each project, three types of rangeland improvement operations, including plantation, crescent construction, seeding, and sowing were selected, and the percentage of vegetation, the amount of forage production, and carbon sequestrated in the soil were the basis for evaluation and comparison. Vegetation was measured by the linear transect placement method, production amount was measured by the double sampling method, and soil carbon was measured by Wallace and Blake method. The results of the analysis of variance showed that the interaction between the type of management and corrective operations on the value of ecological indexes was a significant difference at (p < /em><0.01). The highest value of indexes was observed in social-ecological-oriented management based on plant operations, and the lowest value was observed in ecological-oriented management under the same activity. The results show that capacity building, institutionalization, and real participation of the local community in all stages of planning, implementation, monitoring, and operation of these areas, in the socio-ecological management approach, bring more success in improving the index of ecological rangelands.
Mohammad Abolghasemi; Hannaneh Mohammadi Kangarani; Hosein Azarnivand; Mohammadali Emami Meybodi
Volume 28, Issue 1 , April 2021, , Pages 118-128
Abstract
Rangelands are composed of different plant species with different vegetative characteristics that have a certain grazing value. Hence, the grazing livestock also shows a special grazing behavior according to it. Without knowing these behaviors, planning and managing rangelands and livestock ...
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Rangelands are composed of different plant species with different vegetative characteristics that have a certain grazing value. Hence, the grazing livestock also shows a special grazing behavior according to it. Without knowing these behaviors, planning and managing rangelands and livestock is not possible. This research was carried out on camel herds in the rangelands of the Tabas desert from 2015 to 2017. Parameters such as grazing time, rest time, livestock movement time, distance traveled, and livestock movement speed were examined by GPS. The results showed that in spring, summer, fall, and winter, grazing time, livestock movement time, distance traveled, livestock movement speed at (p < /em><0.01), and rest time at (p < /em><0.05) were significantly different. The highest grazing time (342 minutes), rest time (119 minutes), and distance traveled (21.66 km) by camels in the studied rangelands were in summer and the lowest in winter. The highest speed (2.12 km/h) and travel time (359 minutes) were in spring and the lowest in winter. Therefore, knowing the mentioned parameters will help the rangeland management in determining the appropriate time for the camel to move in the rangeland and will increase the livestock performance.
Mohammad Abolghasemi; Hananeh Mohammadi Kangarani; Hosein Azarnivand; Mohammad Ali Emami Meybodi
Volume 27, Issue 2 , June 2020, , Pages 357-370
Abstract
This study was conducted in the central plateau of Iran to examine the income, cost, and profitability of conventional systems, in which camel is common during the years 2015 to 2017. For this purpose, by selecting 28 conventional systems with an average of 126 camels, the amount of income and cost per ...
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This study was conducted in the central plateau of Iran to examine the income, cost, and profitability of conventional systems, in which camel is common during the years 2015 to 2017. For this purpose, by selecting 28 conventional systems with an average of 126 camels, the amount of income and cost per camel during the regular period of each year (spring) was completed and calculated by the operators with a questionnaire. The type of research is practical, and the statistical population included 28 camel herders. Random sampling was performed. Variables included income factors and camel costs. Using the analysis of engineering economics, the current value of income (PV income) and the present value of costs (PV cost) were calculated for the studied years, and then the net present value (NPV) and the benefit-to-cost ratio (BCR) was calculated with Excel software. The results showed that in all conventional systems, the net present value was positive, and the benefit-to-cost ratio was greater than one (BCR≥1). The highest gross income in each of the conventional systems was related to the sale of live camels (male camels, 6-month-old camels, elimination camels) and the highest cost was related to camel driver’s wages and the purchase of manual forage. However, by calculating gross income from expenses, the amount of profitability was determined, so it is suggested that due to the appropriate profitability of this profession, the relevant agencies have a plan to expand the cultivation of this industry along with the tourism industry and considering that forage of these habitats will not be able to supply the nutritional needs of camels in traditional areas, and the continuation of this situation will endanger the vegetation; therefore, it should be done with caution.
Hasan Yeghaneh; Hosein Azarnivand; Iraj Saleh; Hosein Arzani; Hamid Amirnejad
Volume 23, Issue 1 , June 2016, , Pages 161-176
Abstract
In this study, the economic value of soil conservation function was estimated for the Taham watershed, Zanjan. Therefore, the amount of erosion and sedimentation in the study area was determined using EPM models. Soil nutrient levels were determined with soil sampling and laboratory analysis, and the ...
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In this study, the economic value of soil conservation function was estimated for the Taham watershed, Zanjan. Therefore, the amount of erosion and sedimentation in the study area was determined using EPM models. Soil nutrient levels were determined with soil sampling and laboratory analysis, and the value of rangeland ecosystems in the maintenance of soil nutrients were estimated separately using the results of soil analysis and opportunity cost method. In addition, the opportunity cost method was used to determine the functions of reduced loss of lands and sediment control. According to the results obtained for total economic value of soil conservation functions, the value of rangeland ecosystems in the study area was estimated to be 1.44 billion Rials per year, and the economic value per hectare rangeland was determined to be 104000 Rials. Among the vegetation types investigated, the highest economic value was recorded for Feov-Asmi-Brto (171000 Rials per hectare per year). The valuation of soil conservation function can provide accurate information for managers and planners for natural resources conservation, leading to develop more accurate plans in this field.
Hossein Arzani; Javad Motamedi (Torkan); Ali Nikkhah; Hossein Azarnivand; Mehdi Ghorbani
Volume 19, Issue 4 , March 2013, , Pages 557-570
Abstract
Information on animal requirements is essential to calculate rangeland grazing capacity. Therefore, animal weight and animal unit equivalent (AUE) of each breed should be determined independently. In this research, live weight of Kabodeh sheep was determined based on average live weight of 3 and 4 years ...
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Information on animal requirements is essential to calculate rangeland grazing capacity. Therefore, animal weight and animal unit equivalent (AUE) of each breed should be determined independently. In this research, live weight of Kabodeh sheep was determined based on average live weight of 3 and 4 years old ewes. For this purpose, two herds of Kabodeh breed were selected. In each herd, 15 three–year-old ewes, 15 four-year-old ewes, 5 three-year-old rams, 5 four year-old-rams, 10 three-month-old lambs and 10 six-month--old lambs were selected. They were weighed two times including at the time of grazing season in lowland and highland rangelands. For determination of dry matter requirement, forage quality was taken into consideration. According to the results, animal weight for herds (three and four years old ewe) was 52.66±0.86 kg. Therefore, animal unit equivalent (AUE) for rams, ewes, 3 and 6-month-old lambs were 1.07, 1.66, 0.38 and 0.51, respectively. According to MAFF equation (1984), daily metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance condition was calculated 9.89 and 10.60 Mj (including that multiplied by 1.4 and 1.5) by considering condition of rangelands and distances from watering points and plant density in lowland and highland rangelands. Dry matter requirement was calculated 1.98 and1.80 kgbased on forage quality in lowland and highland rangelands.
Mojtaba Akhavan Armaki; Hossein Azarnivand; Mohammad Hasan Asareh; Ali Ashraf Jafari; Ali Tavili
Volume 19, Issue 4 , March 2013, , Pages 669-678
Abstract
Drought has a major influence on morphological and physiological characteristics of plant species. Drought stress has a direct relationship with germination characteristics including germination percentage, seedling length (mm/plant), root to shoot ratio, seedling weight (g), ratio of dry weight to fresh ...
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Drought has a major influence on morphological and physiological characteristics of plant species. Drought stress has a direct relationship with germination characteristics including germination percentage, seedling length (mm/plant), root to shoot ratio, seedling weight (g), ratio of dry weight to fresh weight of seedlings (g.dfw-1) and seed vigor index (V). In this research, effects of drought stress on these characteristics were examined in four genotypes of Bromus inermis (Alborz 303, Mazandaran 3151, Firozkuh 3966 and Esfahan 200060) under laboratory and greenhouse condition. In greenhouse experiment, three physiological traits including chlorophyll, carbohydrates and proline contents were measured. Drought treatments included four levels of osmotic potential (0, -0.3, -0.6 and -0.9 MPa) in germinator and four levels of osmotic potential (FC, 25% FC, 50% FC and 75% FC) in greenhouse, made by Poly-Ethylene-Glycol (PEG 6000) solution in laboratory and weighting method in greenhouses, respectively. Results showed that Esfahan (200060) genotype was better than two other genotypes in terms of germination percentage under two conditions. Increasing drought stress increased proline and carbohydrate and decreased the chlorophyll content.
Zeinab Jafarian; Hossein Arzani; Mohammad Jafari; Ghavamedin Zahedi; Hossein Azarnivand
Volume 19, Issue 3 , December 2012, , Pages 371-381
Abstract
This research was aimed to investigate the relationships between dominant rangeland species and environmental factors in the Rineh rangelands located on the southern slope of Damavand Mountain. Stratified random sampling method was applied and the study area was classified to 37 sample units based upon ...
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This research was aimed to investigate the relationships between dominant rangeland species and environmental factors in the Rineh rangelands located on the southern slope of Damavand Mountain. Stratified random sampling method was applied and the study area was classified to 37 sample units based upon elevation, slop and aspect.
In the study area, 750 plots 1m2 and 75 plots 25m2 were established. One hundred and fifty soil samples were dug at the depth of 0-30 cm and 16 soil properties including pH, CaCo3, bulk density, particle density, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, absorbed potassium, organic matter, saturation moisture, soil texture, field capacity, permanent wilting point, available water capacity and water holding capacity were measured in laboratory. After collecting the climate data, 16 climate factors including average relative humidity, average rainfall, average temperature, average minimum temperature, average maximum temperature in spring, summer and annual as well as annual frost days were selected to reconstruct the missing data. IRS images including red and near-infrared bands and PAN band as well as combined bands derived from RVI, NDVI, and PCA were selected. Regression equation was developed for each species using logistic regression. Results indicated that most of the factors including slop, aspect, average minimum temperature in spring, number of frost days, average daily temperature in summer, and most of the soil factors were entered in regression models. Also, satellite data were used as effective tools in showing the presence of plant species.