Somayeh Dehdari; Hosein Arzani; Hamid Movahed; Mohammad ali Zare Chahouki; Hosein shabanali Fomi
Volume 21, Issue 3 , December 2014, , Pages 383-393
Abstract
This research was aimed to prioritize the factors affecting rangeland utilization as well as comparing 60 rangelands with/without Range Management Plan (RMP) using application of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Initially, the criteria for rangeland utilization were prioritized using Delphi ...
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This research was aimed to prioritize the factors affecting rangeland utilization as well as comparing 60 rangelands with/without Range Management Plan (RMP) using application of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Initially, the criteria for rangeland utilization were prioritized using Delphi method and Expert Choice software. Then, 60 rangelands (with/without RMP) were compared to each other. Document and field research methods were used to collect the data. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed and in the field studies, direct sampling was conducted to calculate the rangeland production, condition, and trend while completing the questionnaires in the statistical population. According to the results, significant differences were found for rangeland production, trend, condition, and early grazing in comparison of rangelands with RMP and those with no RMP (p<0.01). In addition, significant differences were found for the number of available livestock to the allowed number of livestock, encroachment into the rangeland, contention and conflict among rangeland beneficiaries and the beneficiaries' attitude towards range management plan (RMP) in the studied rangelands (p<0.05).
Masoud Borhani; Hosein Arzani; Mehdi Basiri; Mohammad Ali Zare Chahouki; Mehdi Farahpour
Volume 21, Issue 3 , December 2014, , Pages 530-540
Abstract
In order to investigate the effects of range management plans on cover, production, litter, and regeneration of plants in Semirum rangelands, 54 sites including 29 with plan and 25 without plan were selected. The implementation of range management plans resulted in the decrease of stocking rate, affecting ...
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In order to investigate the effects of range management plans on cover, production, litter, and regeneration of plants in Semirum rangelands, 54 sites including 29 with plan and 25 without plan were selected. The implementation of range management plans resulted in the decrease of stocking rate, affecting the improvement of vegetation. According to the obtained results, no significant differences were found for the mean total cover, production and number of seedlings between two managements (P<0.05), while in the sites with plan, the cover, production and number of seedlings of class 1 plants, and cover and production of perennial grasses were significantly more than those of the sites without plan. This result was also true in the case of litter. These variations in plant composition were due to the impact of controlling the intensity and timing of grazing on the competition between palatable and perennial species with invasive and annual ones.
Hosein Arzani; Farajollah Tarnian; Javad Motamedi; Morteza Khodagholoi
Volume 21, Issue 2 , August 2014, , Pages 198-207
Abstract
Forage quality is one of the most important factors in determination of the rangeland grazing capacity and also indicates the sufficiency of nutritive requirements of grazing animals. In this research, the samples of range species (including; Acantholimon festucaceum, Andrachne fruticulosa, Artemisia ...
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Forage quality is one of the most important factors in determination of the rangeland grazing capacity and also indicates the sufficiency of nutritive requirements of grazing animals. In this research, the samples of range species (including; Acantholimon festucaceum, Andrachne fruticulosa, Artemisia sieberi, Euphorbia decipiens, Noaea mucronata, Scariola orientalis, Stachys inflate, Stipa Arabica and Stipa barbata) in Maime, which were dominant in region, were collected in three phenological stages (vegetative, flowering and seeding) in three replications, and five individual plants were collected in each replication. Then, plant samples were chemically dissolved to measure the nitrogen (N) and acid detergent fiber (ADF). A split plot in a completely randomized design was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that the mean of effective indices on forage quality had considerable changes in phenological stages and it had significant influence on the forage quality. With progress of growth stages, the amount of crude protein (CP), dray mater digestibility (DMD) and metabolism energy (ME) decreased and the amount of acid detergent fiber (ADF) increased. In addition, results showed that crude protein amounts of all studied species in vegetative and flowering stage swere more than critical level (7%) for need of daily animal requirement and in seeding stage was less than animal requirement. Mean value of dray mater digestibility (DMD) in vegetative stage was more than critical level (50%), and in flowering stage and seeding stage were less than its critical level for need of maintenance. The mean value of metabolism energy in all three phenological stages was less than critical level (8 Mj/Kg/DM) for need of maintenance of single animal unit. This suggests that desirable quality of pasture forage at different grazing times is not same and determination of daily animal unit requirement based on forage quality is needed. In general, the studied ranges are desirable in terms of supplying the required daily crude protein for animal units, grazing in rangelands, but in terms of providing metabolism energy are undesirable.
Hosein Arzani; Javad Moetamedi; Hasan Yeghaneh; Hamzeh Ali Shirmardi
Volume 21, Issue 2 , August 2014, , Pages 221-233
Abstract
Being informed about the sufficiency of forage required for the daily need of the animal unit grazing on the rangeland is of paramount importance in animal and rangeland management. Therefore, in the current study, 32 important plant species grazed by animals on semi-steppe rangelands of Karsank in Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari ...
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Being informed about the sufficiency of forage required for the daily need of the animal unit grazing on the rangeland is of paramount importance in animal and rangeland management. Therefore, in the current study, 32 important plant species grazed by animals on semi-steppe rangelands of Karsank in Chaharmahal-o-Bakhtiari were sampled during three growth stages (vegetative growth, flowering and seeding). During each stage, three samples were taken and three plant bases were cut for each sample. Having measured the percentage of nitrogen (N) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) of the studied species, the amount of their crude protein (CP), dry matter digestibility (DMD) and metabolisable energy (ME) were determined to know their critical level for meeting animals’ daily requirements. In order to analyze the data, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used and to observe the within-groups differences Duncan's test was employed. Results showed that the maximum crude protein (23.87%), dry matter digestibility (74.35%) and metabolisable energy (6.73 Mj/Kg/DM) belonged to Bellevalia glauca. The minimum crude protein (9.81%) belonged to Thymus daenensis and the minimum dry matter digestibility (51.38%) and metabolisable energy (6.73 Mj/Kg/DM) were recorded for Asperula molluginoides. The average crude protein for vegetative, flowering and seeding stages were 20.92, 13.03 and 8.89%, respectively, that at all three growth stages, it was higher than its critical level (7.0%) to meet the daily maintenance requirement of an animal unit. Average dry matter digestibility values for the three phenological stages were 62.48, 55.02 and 46.18%, respectively, that its amount was higher than the critical level (50%) for vegetative and flowering stages and was lower than the critical amount at the seeding stage for meeting the daily maintenance requirements of an animal unit. Metabolisable energy in vegetative, flowering and seeding stages were 8.62, 7.35 and 5.85%, respectively, which were higher than the critical level (8Mj) during the vegetative growth and flowering stages and lower than the same critical level at the seeding stage for meeting the daily maintenance requirements of an animal unit. This is an indicator of the fact that desirability of range forage at different grazing times is not the same and it is necessary to determine the daily requirement of animal unit on the basis of forage quality. In general, the studied rangelands are considered to be desirable in terms of supplying required daily crude protein and metabolisable energy for an animal unit. Results presented in this paper are important for livestock and range management in the studied area.
Nematollah Madadi Zadeh; Hossein Arzani; Ghavaloddin ahedi; Najmeh Faryabi
Volume 21, Issue 1 , June 2014, , Pages 128-138
Abstract
In the current study, the effects of exclosure were examined on rangeland vegetation at two study sites including, reference site (inside the exlosure) and critical site (outside the exclosure). Research was conducted by the systematic-random method and 160 2*1.5 m plots were established. Inside each ...
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In the current study, the effects of exclosure were examined on rangeland vegetation at two study sites including, reference site (inside the exlosure) and critical site (outside the exclosure). Research was conducted by the systematic-random method and 160 2*1.5 m plots were established. Inside each plot, the percentage of canopy cover, litter, gravel and bare soil as well as density of class I, II, and III species were recorded. Dry matter yield was also calculated. Four-factor method and trend balance method were applied to determine the range condition and range trend, respectively. According to the obtained results, due to the exclosure, litter, yield, canopy cover percentage and class I species composition increased up to 24.72%, 37.42%, 23.6%, and 80.6%, respectively. On the other hand, the percentage of bare soil, gravel, and class III species composition decreased to 34.29%, 17.16%, and 26.96%, respectively. Mean differences in all parameters inside and outside the exclosure were significant at both study sites. Our results also indicated that exclosure led to the improvement of range condition and range trend.
Yaser Ghasemi Aryan; Hosein Arzani; esmaeel Filekesh
Volume 20, Issue 4 , March 2014, , Pages 634-643
Javad Motamedi; Hosein Arzani; Esmaeel Sheidaye Karkaj; Ahmad Alijanpour
Volume 20, Issue 4 , March 2014, , Pages 653-668
Hosein Arzani; Javad Motamedi; Morteza Mofidi Chalan; Esmaiel Aliakbarzadeh Alni
Volume 20, Issue 4 , March 2014, , Pages 783-794
Fatemeh Alishah Aratboni; Hosein Arzani; Seyed Zeinokabedin hosseini; Sasan Babaie Kafaki; Khosro Mirakhorlou
Volume 20, Issue 3 , November 2013, , Pages 454-462
Hesamaddin Khalesi; Mehdi Farahpour; Hosein Arzani; Babak Naiemi
Volume 20, Issue 3 , November 2013, , Pages 471-485
Jalal Abdollahi; Hossein Arzani; Hossein Naderi
Volume 20, Issue 2 , June 2013, , Pages 240-249