Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 M.Sc. in Range Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Moddares University, Nour, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Moddares University, Nour, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Faculty of Natural Resources, Tarbiat Moddares University, Nour, Iran
Abstract
Vegetation cover is one of the most important factors for sustainability of ecosystems, thus recognizing and understanding factors that affect establishment and distribution of vegetation communities are necessary. This study was aimed to determine the relationship between vegetation properties (vegetation cover and density) and environmental parameters of rangelands. The study area was about 4600 ha, located at Polour, Mazandaran province. Land units were considered as the basis of research, and after preparing maps of slope, aspect, elevation, lithology and geomorphology and combining the maps, a single working map was generated. Systematic randomized sampling was used and performed along 3 transects of 100 m length. Ten quadrates of 1m2 were established along each transect at 10-meter intervals. Three soil samples were taken in each area and topography properties were recorded. Multivariate analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) were used to determine relationship between soil and vegetation data using CANOCO software. Results showed that the percentage of canopy cover and density of the species was different and was influenced by soil properties and physiographic factors. Among physiographic factors, aspect and slope had a significant relationship whit vegetation cover and density. Among soil factors, texture, N, P, pH and litter were the most important factors that influenced vegetation cover, and OM, P, pH and Ec had the most influence on density.
Keywords
)