Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Associate Prof. Forest and Rangeland Research Department.mazandaran Agriculture and natural resources Research and education Cnter,AREEO,Sari,Iran.
10.22092/ijrdr.2024.131462
Abstract
Background and objective: The monitoring and evaluation of rangelands provides the necessary information for the basic planning of rangeland management and as a result prevents the destruction of rangelands and water and soil conservation. The goals of this research are to prepare a continuous database of vegetation and soil indicators in rangelands and monitor their changes, determine the relationship between vegetation indicators and climatic factors, determine the trend and intensity of changes in different managements, and provide information for calculating long-term capacity of rangelands.
Methodology: For this study, the Asbchar site was selected in the rangelands of Baladeh region in Mazandaran province and was evaluated and monitored for 5 years. In order to evaluate the indicators of vegetation cover, 3 transects of 100 meters were placed at a distance of 50 meters from each other. Vegetation and soil factors were measured.Vegetation factors included canopy cover, density and production of plant species, litter, rangeland condition and trend. Soil factors include pH, EC, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter, soil bulk density and soil texture. 10 plots 1m2 were placed in each transect and a total of 30 plots in exclosure and grazed areas. The crown cover of any plant species with the method of measuring the crown surface, the density by counting the number of species, the production by cutting and weighing, and the percentage of stone and gravel cover, litter,the and the bare soil were also measured in the plots. Data testing was done in Minitab16 software.
Conclusion: There is a significant difference between the fexclosure and grazed areas in terms of some soil factors. There is a significant difference between the indicators of vegetation cover during the studied years. The highest amount of coverage and production in both exclosure and grazed areas was in 2021 and the lowest in 2017. The results of the correlation test showed that total rainfall, autumn and winter rainfall, and growing season rainfall had the highest correlation in the canopy cover and plant production.
Keywords
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