Kambiz Tavakoli; Parviz Karami; Hamed Joneidi Jafari; Bahram Gholinejad bodag
Volume 31, Issue 2 , August 2024, , Pages 186-203
Abstract
Background and ObjectiveFire is a significant ecological factor that influences rangeland ecosystems, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where it plays a crucial role in the growth, development, and evolution of plant species. Historically, controlled burning of vegetation in natural ecosystems ...
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Background and ObjectiveFire is a significant ecological factor that influences rangeland ecosystems, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where it plays a crucial role in the growth, development, and evolution of plant species. Historically, controlled burning of vegetation in natural ecosystems has been one of the simplest methods for altering and enhancing habitats, as well as for eliminating pests, diseases, and undesirable plants, while also modifying vegetation cover. Understanding the effects of fire on the characteristics of rangeland vegetation is essential for effective post-fire management. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of fire on specific vegetation characteristics and to analyze vegetation responses to fire, with the goal of improving the management of the Sanandaj rangelands. MethodologyFor this study, three areas Khalichian, Hasanabad, and Haft Asiab located around Sanandaj and affected by fires one to three years prior were selected. Following field surveys and sampling, the flora of these areas was identified using available resources. Vegetation types were determined through the physiognomic-floristic method. Six sites were established for vegetation sampling, comprising three burned sites and three control sites. Each pair of burned and control sites was matched based on topographic conditions, including elevation, slope percentage, and slope direction, to minimize the effects of environmental gradients and focus on the impact of fire. In each site, two transects (one along the slope and one perpendicular to it) were established, with 15 plots along each transect, resulting in a total of 12 transects and 180 plots. Within each plot, vegetation characteristics such as the percentage of canopy cover of plant species, bare soil, stones and gravel, and litter were estimated. The Shannon-Wiener index was utilized to calculate diversity and evenness, while the Margalef index was used to assess richness. An independent t-test was conducted to compare the mean vegetation characteristics. ResultsThe results revealed a significant decrease in the canopy cover of shrubs in the burned sites, accompanied by notable increases in the cover of grasses and both annual and perennial forb plants. Total canopy cover, bare soil percentage, production, and species richness significantly increased in all three areas as a result of fire, while litter significantly decreased. Total rangeland production in the fire-affected sites was significantly higher than in the control sites (P < 0.01), with increases of 26.48%, 26.48%, and 40.14% observed in Khalichian, Hasanabad, and Haft-Asiab, respectively. The difference in the species diversity index (Shannon-Wiener index) was not significant in Khalichian; however, it showed a significant increase in the other areas. Comparisons of the Margalef species richness index indicated that fire enhanced species richness in all three areas, with increases reaching significance at the 1% level. The species evenness index exhibited a significant increase in Hasanabad and Haft-Asiab, but not in Khalichian. An examination of plant composition in the studied areas indicated that fire reduced the prevalence of woody species while promoting an increase in herbaceous plants. ConclusionThis study concluded that fire generally results in an increase in live vegetation cover, a reduction in litter, and an increase in bare soil. Additionally, fire alters plant composition, favoring herbaceous plants over woody species. Therefore, it is recommended that controlled burning be implemented in grasslands where plant composition has shifted and woody species have proliferated. Such practices should be considered alongside other economic, social, and environmental factors to enhance rangeland conditions.
Abdolhamid Hajebi; Morteza Akbarzadeh; Mohammad Amin Soltanipoor
Volume 29, Issue 3 , October 2022, , Pages 181-190
Farhad Aghajanlou; Morteza Akbarzadeh; ahmad mousavi; Parviz Moradi
Volume 28, Issue 4 , November 2021, , Pages 614-630
Abstract
Rangelands capacity depends on several factors, including the amount of forage production. Forage production varies during the grazing period and different years. The goal of determining grazing capacity is to estimate the forage production within the grazing period. This project was carried out over ...
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Rangelands capacity depends on several factors, including the amount of forage production. Forage production varies during the grazing period and different years. The goal of determining grazing capacity is to estimate the forage production within the grazing period. This project was carried out over a period of 4 years (2006-2010) to determine forage production and consumption at different stages of growth. For this purpose, at the beginning of grazing season, the amount of forage remaining after grazing until the exit time of livestock was harvested at one-month intervals. Forage production was measured within the enclosed and adjacent area, and the amount of consumption of each species was determined. The collected data were analyzed based on a completely randomized design. The combined analysis of variance showed that production was significantly different (P<0.01) in years and months of the growing season. The highest amount of production was recorded in 2009 and the lowest in 2008. The ratio of forage produced in unfavorable to favorable years was 50%. In other words, forage production in 2009 was double that of 2008. This ratio was 13% to 79% among species. The peak of monthly rangeland production was in June and was the same for most species. The average rangelands production at the four-year study was about 650 kg/ha, and the contribution of three species Festuca ovina, Bromus tomentellus, and Tanacetum polycephalum were 24%, 20%, and 11%, respectively. The highest forage consumption was recorded in July and then in August. On average, about 71% of forage production was consumed during the grazing season. The lowest and the highest forage consumption was observed for Phlomis olivier (37%) and Silene ampullata (100%), respectively.
zhila ghorbani; Kiumars Sefidi; Mahshid Souri; Mehdi Moameri
Volume 28, Issue 3 , October 2021, , Pages 395-409
Abstract
Awareness of the extent and impact of vegetation from livestock grazing disorders can be a solution to develop rangeland ecosystem management strategies to achieve sustainability and continuous production in these ecosystems. In this study, the production of aerial and underground organs of grazable ...
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Awareness of the extent and impact of vegetation from livestock grazing disorders can be a solution to develop rangeland ecosystem management strategies to achieve sustainability and continuous production in these ecosystems. In this study, the production of aerial and underground organs of grazable livestock species in the southeastern rangelands of Sabalan under the influence of different grazing intensities and distance from the village as the focus of the crisis was investigated. In addition, the development and evaluation of ANFIS model was presented in order to predict the production of aerial and underground organs of food species and compare the results with the regression model. For evaluation of regression and ANFIS models the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient (R2) were used. The results showed that different grazing intensities, distance from village and interaction between them were significant effect on the production of aerial and underground organs of palatability species at (p≤0.01). Also, with increasing grazing intensity, the production of aerial and underground organs of these species decreased. The results of ANFIS section showed that in low grazing intensity and distance of about 400 meters, the highest amount of production of palatable species is observed. The lowest production of these species is predicted to be close to the village (200 meters). Moreover, the highest amount of underground biomass at farther distances (600 meter) and lowest amount of that was observed at 200 meter. In addition, ANFIS model with higher accuracy (R2 = 0.98 and R2 = 0.95) and lower error (RMSE = 0.9792 and RMSE = 1.168) than less accurate regression model (R2 = 0.92 and R2 0.77) which also had more errors (RMSE = 2.2835 and RMSE = 3.8954), predicted the production of aerial and underground organs, respectively.
Farshad Keivan Behjou; Adel Esmailnejad Onari; Sajad ghanbari
Volume 28, Issue 2 , June 2021, , Pages 252-265
Abstract
Rangelands as the main part of natural resources are considered a basis for the economic growth and development of communities and countries at the micro and macro levels. Increasing the number of livestock has led to the degradation of rangelands, so it is necessary to control grazing. The purpose of ...
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Rangelands as the main part of natural resources are considered a basis for the economic growth and development of communities and countries at the micro and macro levels. Increasing the number of livestock has led to the degradation of rangelands, so it is necessary to control grazing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the implementation of rangeland management plans on the production and economic status of summer rangeland owners in Aminabad and KourAbbasloo, Nir city, Ardabil province. To determine the BCR, the economic evaluation of the plans, and their impact on the income of ranchers, data was collected by questionnaire. The results showed that there was a significant difference between income before (4.16 million Rials/ha) and after implementation of the rangelands plan (5.46 million Rials/ha) at (p < /em><0.01). There was a significant difference at (p < /em><0.01) in the amount of production before and after the project implementation with the amount of (293.05 kg ha-1) and (411.6 kg ha-1) respectively at KourAbbasloo rangelands in the third period of the implementation of the plan. Regression analysis showed that the two variables of the effect of project implementation on rangeland status and the effect of loan payment on rangeland plan implementation were able to justify 72% of changes in users' satisfaction with the implementation of the rangeland management plan. The results of the economic analysis of the rangeland plan implementation showed that the project has a positive net present value of 6439 million Rials ha-1. It has also generated a BCR of about 5.5 times. Overall, the results of this study showed that the rangelands with management plans had better conditions than without ones in terms of production and economics. Implementation of rangeland management plans can increase production and improve rangeland status and income of landholders if it is in line with ecological, economic, and social conditions of the rangelands.
Azam Khosravi Mashizi; Mohsen Sharafatmandrad
Volume 28, Issue 2 , June 2021, , Pages 266-279
Abstract
The complexities of the relationship between biodiversity and human welfare can be simplified by identifying the impact of species diversity on ecosystem function. Since annual production plays an important role in the grazing management and sustainability of rangeland ecosystems, this study examines ...
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The complexities of the relationship between biodiversity and human welfare can be simplified by identifying the impact of species diversity on ecosystem function. Since annual production plays an important role in the grazing management and sustainability of rangeland ecosystems, this study examines the relationship between species diversity and annual production of semi-arid rangelands in Khabar National Park under the hypothesis of ecological nest. The annual production of species in 1×1 square plots was estimated in two rangeland types of Artemisia sieberi and Artemisia sieberi- Stipa barbata using the cutting and weighing method. The results showed that although the two plant types differed significantly in terms of annual production (p < /em> <0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two rangeland types in terms of diversity indicators of Shannon, Simpson, Margalf, Manichae, and uniformity index. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed that annual production had a positive and significant relationship with species diversity indicators in Artemisia sieberi- Stipa barbata type; however, no significant relationship was observed in Artemisia sieberi. Contrary to the hypothesis of the ecological nest, species did not have the same contribution in annual production, and the dominant species of Artemisia aucheri had the highest contribution in production. According to the hypothesis of mass ratio, the diversity of functional traits in the dominant species has led to better success of rangeland type the Artemisia aucheri- Stipa barbata than the Artemisia aucheri in terms of annual production. In general, it is recommended that conserving of the composition of plant communities is more important to protect ecosystem services compared to maintaining the maximum number of species.
Reza Chamanpira; Reza Siahmansour; Hossein Arzani
Volume 27, Issue 2 , June 2020, , Pages 204-214
Abstract
One of the main goals of rangeland assessment is to obtain the amount of forage production of rangeland species because it plays an essential role in determining rangeland capacity and grazing management. Measuring the amount of production requires a lot of time and costs, so finding cheap, fast and ...
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One of the main goals of rangeland assessment is to obtain the amount of forage production of rangeland species because it plays an essential role in determining rangeland capacity and grazing management. Measuring the amount of production requires a lot of time and costs, so finding cheap, fast and scientific methods to estimate the amount of production can be a great help in assessing vegetation and rangeland management. The purpose of this study was to find a suitable relationship between the percentage of canopy cover of species and plant classes with their production amount. For this purpose, the percentage of canopy cover of the species was examined during a six-year statistical period within 60 plots (1m2) located along six transects (200 m). In addition, each year, the amount of species production in a quarter of the plots (25% of them) that were caged to prevent possible grazing, was measured by clipping. To determine the amount of total forage production, the regression relationship between canopy cover and species production was used and based on the significance of the equation (p≤ 0.05) and coefficient of determination (R²), the best equation was fitted. The results showed that there was a significant correlation (p≤ 0.01) between production as a dependent variable and the percentage of canopy cover of the species as an independent variable. The coefficient of determination for each of the classes I, II and III were 0.77, 0.87 and 0.92, respectively, which provide the most appropriate linear production-canopy relationship for rangeland management.
Ayad Aazami; Morteza Akberzadeh; Mashaallah Mohmadpour
Volume 27, Issue 1 , April 2020, , Pages 1-12
Abstract
Rangeland capacity depends on forage produced in the rangeland, the permitted range of plant species, forage quality and rangeland health. Range species have a certain production in months and years. Without recognize properties production plants and the rate consumption forage rangeland cannot programming ...
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Rangeland capacity depends on forage produced in the rangeland, the permitted range of plant species, forage quality and rangeland health. Range species have a certain production in months and years. Without recognize properties production plants and the rate consumption forage rangeland cannot programming and management at during a period of grazing. This study was conducted at 2009-2013 years, and rate forage production and utilization was measured. The rate of precipitation annual at 3 years were 138, 200 and 330 millimeter respectively. The results showed that total forage production was significantly different between years (p<0.01). Forage production were 485.7, 1372 and 1844.4 Kg per hectare respectively. The amount of production in the months of growing season (March to August) were significantly different, so 94.7 of pasture growth in the first 2 months (March and April) and three fifths% by feed-in last 4 months. The annual consumption of respectively 400 and 751 and 490 kg per hectare. Although not statistically significant, But in the dry year of 2008, 83% and in the wet year of 1389, 26.6% were used of pasture production. Therefore, in drought, at the same time as the reduction in forage production, the livestock utilization rate increased by 83%, which is not proportional to the rangeland capacity. Therefore, in order to achieve sustainable production, proper management of rangeland and the use of indigenous species such as Onosma bulbotrichum, Ankyropetalum gypsophiloides, Convolvulus reticulatus and Salvia compressa are recommended.
Farshad Keivan Behjou; Hasan Mollazadeh Asl; Jaber Sharifi Naiaragh
Volume 25, Issue 1 , April 2018, , Pages 13-28
Abstract
The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of tree species canopy on production and diversity of grass species in the understory of trees in Fandoghlou, Ardabil. The study area was selected after extracting similar geomorphological units of Fandoghlou, Shoghal Dareh ...
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The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of tree species canopy on production and diversity of grass species in the understory of trees in Fandoghlou, Ardabil. The study area was selected after extracting similar geomorphological units of Fandoghlou, Shoghal Dareh and Niaragh. Inventory was conducted by systematic random sampling and dimension of plots was determined regarding the structure of vegetation. The number of plots was selected using statistical formulas, and the list of species, canopy cover, litter, rock, and bare soil percentage were recorded. Sampling in open and forested rangelands was done in four slope classes including 0-10, 10-20, 20 -35 and 35-50% and in four geographical aspects including northern, southern, eastern and western. The results showed that the highest vegetation cover percentage was observed in the understory of trees in Fandoghlou, Niaragh and Shoghal Dareh in slope classes of 10-20%, respectively, with 20, 25 and 25%. The highest vegetation cover in open rangelands were observed in slope classes of 10-20%, respectively, with 81, 86 and 86%. The northern aspect compared to other aspects had the highest vegetation cover in both rangelands. According to the results, the highest production was observed in open rangelands, showing a significant difference with forested rangelands. In addition, the production of grass species and interaction of rangeland type and aspect showed significant differences in the study rangelands. Accordingly, production in the open rangelands of northern slopes was significantly higher as compared with forested rangelands. On the other hand, the results of diversity and evenness indices in open and forested rangelands showed that the highest amounts of these indices were observable in forested rangelands.
ardashir pounrnemati; ardavan ghorbani; jaber sharifi; farzad mirzaie; masoume amirkhani; mahmoud goudarzi
Volume 24, Issue 1 , May 2017, , Pages 110-125
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between rangeland plants production based on total production and life forms of grasses, forbs, and shrubs with topographic factors (altitude, slope, and aspects) in Sabalan rangelands, Ardabil province. To determine the annual total production, ...
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between rangeland plants production based on total production and life forms of grasses, forbs, and shrubs with topographic factors (altitude, slope, and aspects) in Sabalan rangelands, Ardabil province. To determine the annual total production, the amount of production was estimated using harvesting method in one square meter plots (totally of 216 plots) under the altitude range of 1200 to 2900 meters a.s.l. Using topographic maps, the digital elevation model was derived and classified maps of elevation, slope, and aspect were derived. Then, in each plot, information such as elevation, slope, and aspect was extracted. The correlation between life forms and topographic factors was analyzed using multivariate regression method. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between the production of life forms such as grasses (P<0.01), forbs (P<0.01) and shrubs (P<0.05) with topographic factors; however, there was no significant relationship between total production and topographic factors (P>0.05). The production of grasses, forbs and total production had direct relationship with slope; however, the production of shrubs decreased with the increase of slope. The production of grasses increased with altitude, and in the east-faced slopes, it was estimated more than the other aspects. The production of forbs decreased with the increase of altitude and was higher in the east aspect in comparison with the other aspects. The production of shrubs and total production in the middle altitude and in north –faced slopes were more than the other classes and aspects according to the suitable ecological condition and low degradation. Although it is obvious that elevation, slope, and aspect can change and affect the production, this effect is unknown, especially in the connection with life forms and the process of change. Overall, it can be concluded that these results could be used in the management of these rangelands, particularly in the improvement and rehabilitation practices.
Amir Mirzaee Mousavand; Ehsan zandi esfahan; Farshad keyvan Behjoo
Volume 23, Issue 3 , January 2017, , Pages 606-617
Abstract
This research was aimed to investigate the effects of exclosure on species diversity changes under grazing and exclosure conditions in the northeast rangelands of Delfan County, Lorestan province. For this purpose, 120 quadrates of 1*1 m2 were established in a randomized-systematic method along 12 transects ...
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This research was aimed to investigate the effects of exclosure on species diversity changes under grazing and exclosure conditions in the northeast rangelands of Delfan County, Lorestan province. For this purpose, 120 quadrates of 1*1 m2 were established in a randomized-systematic method along 12 transects of 100 m length at four altitude classes (three transects on each altitude class). In each quadrate, the list of species, density, the percentage of canopy cover, litter, stone and gravel, and bare soil were recorded. To evaluate the numerical indices of diversity, Ecological Methodology software (Ver., 6.2) was used and numerical indices of diversity and evenness were calculated. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software (Ver. 18). According to the obtained results, a number of 132 species were identified, belonging to 30 families and 104 genera, of which 124 and 108 species were recorded in the rangelands under exclosure and grazing conditions, respectively. Our results clearly showed higher numerical indices for richness, evenness, and species diversity under exclosure as compared with grazing condition. The canopy cover percentage of perennial grasses and forbs as well as litter percentage was higher inside the exclosure while the canopy cover percentage of annual grasses and shrubs as well as bare soil percentage was lower as compared with outside the exclosure. The density of perennial grasses and forbs increased, while the density of shrubs decreased inside the exclosure. In addition, a higher production was obtained from the rangeland under exclosure condition.
Mina Bayat; Hosein Arzani; Adel Jalili
Volume 23, Issue 2 , September 2016, , Pages 372-357
Abstract
In this study, the effects of three important climate factors including rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity were studied on vegetation cover and forage production for ten years (1997-2007) as well as in the Alavijeh and Khondab steppe rangelands, Isfahan province, in 2013. The results of the ...
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In this study, the effects of three important climate factors including rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity were studied on vegetation cover and forage production for ten years (1997-2007) as well as in the Alavijeh and Khondab steppe rangelands, Isfahan province, in 2013. The results of the eleven-year study in steppe rangelands showed that shrubs and grasses had the highest and lowest vegetation cover and production and the average vegetation cover and average production were calculated to be 12% and 124.5 kg per hectare. The results of simple regression analysis showed that in steppe rangelands, the total vegetation cover is affected by annual rainfall and temperature, so that vegetation cover increased with increasing annual rainfall and decreasing temperature. The total production in the study rangelands is affected by annual rainfall, cold season rainfall, and minimum temperature. The long-term production was calculated to be 55 and 176.6 kg per hectare for the Khondab and Alavijeh sites, respectively. According to the results of stepwise regression, using climatic factors, the relative humidity with temperature of December and annual rainfall was identified as the best equation to estimate the annual vegetation cover in the Khondab and Alavijeh sites. In the Khondab site, the temperature of November and total rainfall from March to May was identified as the best equation to estimate the annual production. However, in the Alavijeh site, the total rainfall of growing season, minimum temperature of March, and temperature of May and December was the best. Therefore, the impact of climate conditions on vegetation cover and annual production and different life forms are not similar in the steppe rangelands.
Morteza Khodagholi; Morteza Akbarzadeh
Volume 23, Issue 1 , June 2016, , Pages 118-127
Abstract
This study was conducted to demonstrate the growth behavior of Andrachne fruticosus L, Artemisia sieberi Besser، Euphorbia decipiens Boiss and Buhse، Noaea mucronataForssk، Scariola orientalis Sojak، Stachys inflate Benth، Stipa arabica Trin & Rupr and annual species in the Soh rangelands of ...
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This study was conducted to demonstrate the growth behavior of Andrachne fruticosus L, Artemisia sieberi Besser، Euphorbia decipiens Boiss and Buhse، Noaea mucronataForssk، Scariola orientalis Sojak، Stachys inflate Benth، Stipa arabica Trin & Rupr and annual species in the Soh rangelands of Meimeh, Isfahan during 2008 to 2010. To determine the production and consumption of the study species, a number of eight individuals for each species were selected for all months of growing and grazing season within the exclosure area as well as in the grazing area. Results showed that different years and months had significant effect on production of the study species (p < 0.01). According to the results recorded during the experiment, the average production of six perennials and annuals was calculated to be 255.9 kg dry forage per hectare. The highest production rate was obtained for Artemisia sieberi and annuals, 38.2% and 32.9% of total forage production, respectively. Production changes were totally affected by changes in the volume and distribution of rainfall and the correlation coefficient between them was statistically significant in all species except Euphorbia decipiens. The production of the study species showed high fluctuation in response to the most severe drought in 2008. Forage production of the study species in the high-production year was 4.5-20 times higher as compared with the low-production year. For all species, the highest forage production was obtained in May. The consumption rate varied in different years and the highest consumption was recorded in 2009 for all species except Euphorbia decipiens. As well, the highest consumption rate was recorded for annuals during the three study years.
Seyed Ali Hosseini; Morteza Akbarzadeh
Volume 22, Issue 2 , August 2015, , Pages 205-215
Abstract
In order to study thechanges of seasonal production and consumption of range species during the growing period and grazing season, SarAliAbad rangelands were selected, representing a semi-steppe area. Production was measured inside an exclosure and consumption was estimated outside the exclosure under ...
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In order to study thechanges of seasonal production and consumption of range species during the growing period and grazing season, SarAliAbad rangelands were selected, representing a semi-steppe area. Production was measured inside an exclosure and consumption was estimated outside the exclosure under livestock grazing during 2007-2011. Collected data were analyzed by SAS software and mean comparisons were done by Duncan's multiple range test. Results indicated that there were significant differences between production and consumption at P Festuca ovina with an average production of 161 kg/ha and an average consumption of 172 kg/ha, and Agropyron intermedium with an average production of 57 kg/ha and an average consumption of 64 kg/ha, respectively.
Anahita Rashtian; Ali Akbar Karimian
Volume 21, Issue 4 , March 2015, , Pages 747-755
Abstract
Investigation on the vegetation cover of rangelands under grazing and exclosure conditions is important in improvement of range management. Therefore, this research was aimed to investigate the effect of exclosure on production, density, frequency, importance value and vitally of Artemisia sieberi as ...
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Investigation on the vegetation cover of rangelands under grazing and exclosure conditions is important in improvement of range management. Therefore, this research was aimed to investigate the effect of exclosure on production, density, frequency, importance value and vitally of Artemisia sieberi as the most important species of steppe rangelands of Iran. The study was conducted in Nodushan rangelands of Yazd province under grazing and exclosure conditions. Sampling was done randomly in both grazing and exclosure areas, with 10 transects and 40 quadrates of 1m2. In addition, 30 individuals of Ar. sieberi were selected randomly in each area and plant height, maximum and minimum diameter, canopy caver, vitality and dry matter production were measured. According to the obtained results, the studied species showed no significant differences for production, average diameter, height and canopy cover percentage. However, the vitally of Ar. sieberi showed significant differences between grazing and exclosure areas. The results of importance value indicated the increased relative importance of Ar. sieberi under moderate grazing intensity. The distribution pattern of Ar. sieberi under exclosure was uniform while under grazing condition a clumped distribution pattern was observed.
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).
Yaser Ghasemi Arian; Hosein Azarnivand; Firoozeh Moghimi Nejad; Mohammad Jafary; Esmaiel Filekesh
Volume 21, Issue 3 , December 2014, , Pages 394-408
Abstract
This research was aimed to determine the rangeland suitability for sheep grazing in Chahtalkh-Sabzevar rangelands using FAO (1990) method. Initially, the DGN maps, including six sheets of 1:25000, topographic map of 1:50000, and geological map of 1:100000 of the study area were prepared and the vegetation ...
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This research was aimed to determine the rangeland suitability for sheep grazing in Chahtalkh-Sabzevar rangelands using FAO (1990) method. Initially, the DGN maps, including six sheets of 1:25000, topographic map of 1:50000, and geological map of 1:100000 of the study area were prepared and the vegetation types were detected. In each vegetation type, range condition, range trend and production were determined to produce the production suitability map. Then, the soil erosion sensitivity map was prepared using EPM method. To study the suitability of water, water sampling was done and the quantity of water was determined. Water samples were transferred to the laboratory to measure TDS, EC and Mg+2 for each sample. Finally, the suitability map of water resources was produced by combining the layers (provided for four slopes including 0-10%, 10-30%, 30-60% and >60%). The final model of rangeland suitability was prepared by overlaying the maps of production suitability, soil susceptibility to erosion and water. According to the obtained results, there is no suitability S1 class in the region and 23.7%, 18.92%, and 56.9% of the study area have S2, S3, and N suitability classes, respectively. Generally, it can be said that the conversion of rangeland to dryland, overgrazing and early grazing, formations susceptible to erosion, low vegetation cover, salinity, and improper distribution of drinking water sources for livestock are considered as the most important limiting factors for sheep grazing.
Mohsen Sherafatmandrad; Gholamali Heshmati; Mohammadrahim Forouzeh; Hosein Badripour
Volume 21, Issue 3 , December 2014, , Pages 447-454
Abstract
Measurements of production and utilization of key range plant species are of utmost important tools for making range management decisions specially for stocking rate determination. A study was conducted to examine the relationships of production and utilization of Agropyron cristatum and Stipa barbata, ...
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Measurements of production and utilization of key range plant species are of utmost important tools for making range management decisions specially for stocking rate determination. A study was conducted to examine the relationships of production and utilization of Agropyron cristatum and Stipa barbata, as key grasses in Chaharbagh region of Golestan province, with some dimensional parameters. For this purpose, plants height, basal diameter and canopy diameter and their dry weights were measured. Primarily, correlation matrices and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to assess the relationships of these three dimensional variables with production. The three variables were then evaluated for predicting production by using best subset and stepwise regression approaches. Utilization was assessed based on percentage of height removed in relation to percentage weight removed. Results showed that basal and canopy diameters could usefully predict the production of the two grasses. Finally, because of subjectivity of canopy diameter measurements and its weak role in explaining production variations, just basal diameter was considered in models, having linear relationship with production and the coefficient of determinations were calculated to be 72.4 and 71 for A. cristatum and S. barbata, respectively. Therefore, dimension analysis is an appropriate approach to estimate the production and utilization of range key grasses.
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.
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.
Hossein Arzani; Zeinolabedin Hosseini; Khosro Mirakhorlou
Volume 21, Issue 1 , June 2014, , Pages 24-31
Abstract
This study was aimed to assess the applicability of LANDSAT ETM+ satellite images for estimating vegetation production and cover. The images were digitized using topographic maps and geometrized in 1:25000 scales. Required processes such as spectral ratio measurement and vegetation indices were applied ...
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This study was aimed to assess the applicability of LANDSAT ETM+ satellite images for estimating vegetation production and cover. The images were digitized using topographic maps and geometrized in 1:25000 scales. Required processes such as spectral ratio measurement and vegetation indices were applied on the images. Collection was carried out for vegetation cover and production in various vegetation types in homogeneous units. Sampling points' locations were recorded with GPS. Sampling method was random-systematic in such a way that in each unit, a circle with 20 meters radius was considered. One and 9 sampling plots were placed on the centre and on the perimeter, respectively. The plot size was 1m * 1m. In each plot, vegetation percentage was estimated and the production was calculated using double sampling method. Then, DN values for each sampling unit (9 pixels for one unit) were elicited in respect to primary bands' images, vegetation indices and spectral ratios. Correlation and regression analyses between geo-information and satellite information (Digital numbers) were carried out. Results revealed that 7th and 5th Bands and IR1, MIRV2 and VNIR2 indices had a significant correlation with production and given parameter could be estimated through regression models. Likewise, RA, IR1 and TVI indices had a significant correlation with vegetation percentage and this parameter could be estimated through regression models.
Yaser Ghasemi Aryan; Hossein Arzani; Esmaiel Filekesh; Reza Yari
Volume 20, Issue 1 , June 2013, , Pages 1-10
Abstract
Determination of grazing capacity is considered as one of the most fundamental aspects of range management and understanding the effective factors on it is of utmost importance. Since the amount of forage production in a growth period is the basis for calculation of grazing capacity, in this research ...
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Determination of grazing capacity is considered as one of the most fundamental aspects of range management and understanding the effective factors on it is of utmost importance. Since the amount of forage production in a growth period is the basis for calculation of grazing capacity, in this research the estimation of production through the measurement of plant’s dimensions was investigated. For this purpose, the habitat of Artemisia siberi was determined and then 8 transects of 50 m length were established with 10 m intervals by random-systematic method. The height and diameter of 40 species of Artemisia siberi with different dimensions were recorded and the production of each species was clipped and weighted after drying. All data were analyzed by SPSS. Results showed that there was a significant linear correlation between production as a dependent variable and volume, canopy cover and height of Artemisia siberi as independent variables (R2= 0.88, 0.84, and 0.74, respectively) at 1% probability level. Finally, the relationship between production and volume was identified as the best linear relationship.
Seyed Akbar Javadi; Shadi Mohamad pori naeem; Hossein Arzani; Ahmad Ahmadi
Volume 19, Issue 4 , March 2013, , Pages 571-580
Abstract
Determination of forage quality of rangeland species is one of the fundamental factors for evaluation of grazing capacity and management of rangelands. In this study, forage quality of Agropyron libanoticum was compared in three phenological stages in Nejh valley, Urmia. After sampling, quality indices ...
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Determination of forage quality of rangeland species is one of the fundamental factors for evaluation of grazing capacity and management of rangelands. In this study, forage quality of Agropyron libanoticum was compared in three phenological stages in Nejh valley, Urmia. After sampling, quality indices such as ADF, CP, ME and DMD were measured in laboratory. Results showed that there were significant differences among the growth stages (at 1 % level of probability). Forage quality of vegetative growth stage was higher than that of flowering and seed ripening stages. Crude protein content decreased from early growth to the end of growth and there was significant difference among vegetative growth stage and flowering as well as seed ripening stage.
Hosein Tavakoli; Abbas ali Sanadgol; Uosef Garivani
Volume 13, Issue 2 , February 2006, , Pages 69-73
Abstract
Russian brome (Bromus tomentellus) is a prennial grass with good adaptability to climatic condition of north Khorasan. So, it has promise for using in range improvement projects. Because threre is no enough local information about mangement of this plant, the present experiment has been conducted in ...
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Russian brome (Bromus tomentellus) is a prennial grass with good adaptability to climatic condition of north Khorasan. So, it has promise for using in range improvement projects. Because threre is no enough local information about mangement of this plant, the present experiment has been conducted in Sisab Reaserch Station (SRS) to evaluate the response of this species to grazing intensities and rest grazing. Four grazing intensities of light (20 to 45% of forage removal), moderate (45- 65% of forage removal), heavy (65- 80% of forage removal) and without grazing as control applied by herd of lamb and sheep for three consequent years from 1999 to 2001. The year of 2002 considered as rest period from grazing. Herbage mass and number of plant per unit area measured as an index response. Herbage mass production decreased by reduction in precipitation. Heavy grazing resulted in significant reduction in herbage production and number of plants per unit area, but one year rest from grazing componsated the negative effect of intensive grazing on herbage mass reduction. Management implication based on this results show that plant can tolerate grazing intensity by 45-65% of herbage removal and indicate on the importance of rest grazing on survivance of this plant.
Jalal Abdollahi; Hosein Arzani; Naser Baghestani; Fakhr.... MirAskarshahi
Volume 13, Issue 2 , February 2006, , Pages 74-81
Abstract
An optimal planning system for managing the range and maintaining it’s vegetation is highly influenced by the humidity and rainfall of the range. In this research, the reactions of the seidlitzia rosmarinous species to the fluctuation of precipitation and under ground water were studied at Chah-Afzal ...
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An optimal planning system for managing the range and maintaining it’s vegetation is highly influenced by the humidity and rainfall of the range. In this research, the reactions of the seidlitzia rosmarinous species to the fluctuation of precipitation and under ground water were studied at Chah-Afzal in Ardakan-Yazd. Regarding the amount of collecting data after five years, by applying Minitab software, using linear regression, an equation between the amount of the production and precipitation was obtained with a high correlation coefficient (r=0.93). The results showed that the variation of the plant production was due to the fluctuation of the annual precipitation. Moreover, result of another analysis was demonstrated a lack of agreement between the cover and density of the se.rosmarinous species with the amount of precipitation. In addition, the results state that the downward trend in the percentage of canopy cover and the density of the se.rosmarinous species in the region are highly influenced (r=0.94 and r=0.99 respectively) by the discharge of ground water table. Thus, the gradual decrease of this source in the coming years might bring out negative effects on the cover, density and finally on the condition of the range in Chah-Afzal. Also, Interaction between the effect of ground water table changes on the amount of forage production was not significant.