Mohammad hadi Rad; Mohammad Khosroshahi
Volume 30, Issue 3 , January 2024, , Pages 395-408
Abstract
Background and Objective The history of using American mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) for desertification control especially sand stabilization in Iran, is long. Considering the non-native nature of this species, attention should be paid to its ecological requirements, especially water needs or evapotranspiration ...
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Background and Objective The history of using American mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) for desertification control especially sand stabilization in Iran, is long. Considering the non-native nature of this species, attention should be paid to its ecological requirements, especially water needs or evapotranspiration (ET). This can contribute to the sustainability of sand stabilization programs and fine dust control and play an influential role in ecosystem development. Determining plants' evapotranspiration rates through lysimetry is one of the most accurate direct measurement methods. Methodology The experiment using weighing and drainage lysimeters began in 2021 by planting seedlings inside lysimeters located at the Yazd Shahid Sadoughi Desert Research Station. It continued for two years. Nine lysimeters with a volume of 1.95 m³ (height: 170 cm, diameter: 121 cm) and a surface area of 1.15 m² were used. The ET rates and the crop coefficient (Kc) of Prosopis juliflora were studied under different soil moisture levels, including field capacity (no stress), 67% of field capacity (mild stress), and 34% of field capacity (severe) for various growth stages. Irrigation was performed by drip irrigation based on a fraction of field capacity with an appropriate number of droppers calculated for each treatment. For field capacity, 67% and 34% of field capacity treatments, 6, 4, and 2 droppers with an 8 liters per hour flow rate were used, respectively. Each treatment was irrigated twice with the appropriate amount of water based on soil moisture levels. Results The results showed that Prosopis juliflora, under lysimeter conditions and the local climate, had an annual ET rate of 496.5 mm and a Kc 0.21. These values for the 67% and 34% field capacity treatments were 445.4 mm with Kc 0.18 and 275.2 mm with Kc 0.11, respectively. The ET rates of Prosopis juliflora at different growth stages revealed that the highest ET occurred during the development period of 124 days. This corresponds to rapid shoot, branch, and leaf growth. The ET rates in different irrigation regimes for field capacity, 67%, and 34% of soil moisture were 322.1 mm, 281.7 mm, and 158.3 mm, respectively. The lowest ET rate was associated with the final growth stage. The Kc for various growth stages in the field capacity treatment were 0.19, 0.24, and 0.14 for the first, second, and third growth periods, respectively. Under these conditions, a sigmoid growth curve (initial growth, development, and end of growth) can be defined for this plant. Conclusion It is recommended for afforestation with this species in Iran's southern regions, considering its optimal planting density to reduce competition. It is also recommended to pay attention to its ET rate, especially during the hot months of the year when it can exceed 2.5 mm per day. By examining and calculating the ET rates of mature trees with appropriate efficiency in sand stabilization and dust control, it was found that to create a canopy cover area, as mentioned, it is necessary to have 4846 m3 of water per hectare (equivalent to 484.6 mm per year) available to the plant. In other words, with this amount of ET, the plant can expand its canopy cover area to 19.5 m2 and, with 155 individuals per hectare (8×8 meters), cover 30% of the area, which is suitable for sand stabilization.
Ardavan Ghorbani; Lida Andalibi; Farid Enferadi; Farzad Aghche Gheshlagh; Jamal Seyf Davati; Jaber Sharifi Niaragh
Volume 27, Issue 4 , December 2020, , Pages 722-731
Abstract
Forage quality information could help managers of rangelands to select appropriate grazing method to achieve higher animal performance without damage to ecosystem. The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional value of Thymus kotschyanus, Artemisia melanolepis and A. austriaca in different ...
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Forage quality information could help managers of rangelands to select appropriate grazing method to achieve higher animal performance without damage to ecosystem. The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional value of Thymus kotschyanus, Artemisia melanolepis and A. austriaca in different altitudes and phenological stages in 2016. According to the presense of the selected species, three rangeland sites in the southeast of Sabalan near Alvares ski resort including 2200-2400, 2600-2800, and 3000-3200 meters above sea level were selected. At each site 50 samples from each species were taken at three phenological stages. The nutritional value of the species was determined by measuring the percentage of dry matter, ash, organic matter, protein, fat, Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF), macro elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and sodium) and micro elements (iron, zinc, copper and manganese) and the results were analyzed in a completely randomized design using ANOVA. Duncan's multiple range test was used to compare the means. Considernig the difference in altitude in the habitat of T. kotschyanus and A. melanolepis, the effect of altitude factor on the studied traits in these two species was solely evaluated by independent t-test and the results showed that, altitude changes had no effect on the nutritional value and macro and micro elements of T. kotschyanus and A. melanolepis. The difference between phenological stages in species was significant. The highest and lowest percentage of organic matter were in seedling and growth stages for A. austriaca (94.43%) and A. melanolepis (91.49%), respectively. As phenological stages pass, there was a significant decrease in the percentage of fat, protein and ash in all three species (p < 0.05). The highest crude protein was observed in A. melanolepis at vegetative stage (17%) and the lowest in A. austriaca at seedling stage (7.5%). With the development of growth stages organic and dry matter, NDF and ADF were increased in the species. Phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and sodium in the species were decreased significantly as phenological stages progress (p < 0.05). The highest phosphorus was recorded at vegetative stage in A. austriaca (0.34%) and the lowest (0.12%) in T. kotschyanus at the seedling stage. Overall, A. austriaca, A. melanolepis and T. kotschyanus have high nutritional value and suitable minerals, which can be used as substitute forage when other forage species are reduced in a given rangeland.
Hosein Arzani; Esmaiel Sabri; Javad Moetamedi; Seyed Akbar Javadi
Volume 22, Issue 1 , June 2015, , Pages 158-167
Abstract
Several sheep breeds with different sizes use the rangelands in different climatic regions of West Azerbaijan province. Since these rangelands differ regarding the vegetation and physical characteristics and these differences cause the amount of animals’ mobility to vary, the amount of required ...
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Several sheep breeds with different sizes use the rangelands in different climatic regions of West Azerbaijan province. Since these rangelands differ regarding the vegetation and physical characteristics and these differences cause the amount of animals’ mobility to vary, the amount of required forage for providing their daily metabolic energy at different grazing times would not be the same. Therefore, to organize the animal feeding on the rangeland, mapping the daily requirement of animals grazing on the rangelands of area was necessary. In this regard, at first, the average amount of metabolic energy per unit weight of rangelands grazed by animals at different growth stages in the summer and winter rangelands were identified and then, considering the daily metabolic energy requirement of each sheep breed in maintenance state, the amount of daily required forage was determined, and on the basis of mentioned results, the map of daily animal requirement at different growth stages was provided. According to the obtained results, it was found that the amount of forage providing the daily requirement of sheep breeds in different climatic pastures of the province varied between 1.04 and 2.31kg per day, so that the least amount was related to the forage providing daily requirement of Makui breed (with an average weight of 45.36 kg) at the initial growth stages of summer rangelands in the northern areas of the province, and the highest amount belonged to the forage providing daily requirement of Ghezel breed (with an average weight of 71.57 kg) and the Herki breed (with an average weight of 53.50kg) at the final growth stages (seeding stage) of winter rangelands in the southern areas of the province
hosein arzani; Javad Moetamedi; Firoozeh Moghimi nejad; reza siahmansour
Volume 22, Issue 4 , March 2015, , Pages 607-614
Abstract
In the present study, the forage quality of five range species including Astragalus remotijugus, Hordeum bulbosum, Onobrychis melanotricha, Phlomis persica, and Picris sterigosa were evaluated in 2010. At each phenological stage, three samples and for each sample, at least five species were cut randomly. ...
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In the present study, the forage quality of five range species including Astragalus remotijugus, Hordeum bulbosum, Onobrychis melanotricha, Phlomis persica, and Picris sterigosa were evaluated in 2010. At each phenological stage, three samples and for each sample, at least five species were cut randomly. Then samples were air-dried and grinded. The amount of crude protein (CP) and acid detergent fibers (ADF) was measured in laboratory then dry matter digestibility (DMD) and metabolism energy (ME) was evaluated by the proposed equations.Our results showed that the interaction effect of species and growth stage was significant for the forage quality traits studied (p<0.05) and the forage quality of the species study species varied at different growth stages. The highest amount of crud protein (18.17 %) was related to the vegetative growth stage of Phlomis persica, and the lowest amount was related to the seeding stage of Hordeum bulbosum. The highest level of digestibility (66.44 %) and metabolisable energy (9.30 MJ/KgDM) was measured for the vegetative growth stage of Onobrychis melanotricha, and the lowest amount of digestibility (42.65 %) and metabolisable energy (5.25 MJ/KgDM) was related to the seeding stage of Picris sterigosa. It is concluded that vegetative growth and flowering stages are able to provide the protein requirements and metabolizable energy for the animal unit; however, the final stages of growth is unable to meet the protein requirements, leading to reduced animal performance in the rangeland.. Therefore, the use of supplements in the final stage of growth is recommended for livestock maintenance and the economic efficiency of herd.