Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017
massoud Borhani; Hosein Arzani; zahra jabeolansar
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 249-258
Abstract
Range management method (RMM) is an important element of range management especially in the case of revegetation and rehabilitation of vegetation. This study aimed to investigate proper RMM and grazing systems for paddocks of Semirom in Esfahan province and comparing them with programs proposed by the ...
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Range management method (RMM) is an important element of range management especially in the case of revegetation and rehabilitation of vegetation. This study aimed to investigate proper RMM and grazing systems for paddocks of Semirom in Esfahan province and comparing them with programs proposed by the offices of natural resources. For this purpose, 29 paddocks under range management plan were selected and proposed RMM and grazing systems were defined. According to range condition and trend in the mentioned paddocks, RMM and grazing system maps were prepared using standards the defined theoretically. The results showed that in most cases, the proposed range management method in rangelands was consistent with the correct method based on rangeland condition. On the other hand, for 20 range management plans, despite artificial RMM, grazing system was predicted, which was not based on correct range management. Our results clearly showed that the proposed grazing systems were not implemented practically in range management plans of the study area due to technical difficulties in range parceling and controlling. In addition, in these areas, grazing schedule in accordance with grazing system does not have considerable advantages.
mina sadeghi; Farshad Keivan Behjou
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 259-267
Abstract
Production rate in a community is the most important indicator to present the level of economic activity in that community which, on the one hand, depends on the extent to which the factors of production are available and, on the other hand, how these factors are combined to produce goods and services. ...
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Production rate in a community is the most important indicator to present the level of economic activity in that community which, on the one hand, depends on the extent to which the factors of production are available and, on the other hand, how these factors are combined to produce goods and services. This study was aimed to calculate rangeland economic rent related to the livestock products. The research method in this study was field-descriptive, and statistical population of present research consisted of rangeland exploiters of over 124 families. A randomized sampling was conducted in this research and the number of samples was calculated to be 124 families using Cochran formula. The data were collected using questionnaires. The results indicated that average income from livestock products in Kojenagh was 7861195.65 Tomans and benefit was calculated to be 291915000 after subtracting obvious and hidden costs. Economic rent related to livestock products was 62375 Tomans per hectare in year and rangeland expected value from livestock products regarding discounted rate of 10% was 6237.5 Tomans per hectare. Marketing margins related to livestock production was estimated to be 19 percent annually, and annual employment was about 16.
Sara Nakhaie Nejad; Gholamreza zehtabian; Arash Malekian; Hassan Khosravi
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 268-279
Abstract
Nowadays, due to water scarcity in the country, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, optimal management of groundwater resources is necessary. This study investigates the quality and quantity of underground water of the Sarayan plain in the northwest of South Khorasan Province in a 14-year period ...
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Nowadays, due to water scarcity in the country, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, optimal management of groundwater resources is necessary. This study investigates the quality and quantity of underground water of the Sarayan plain in the northwest of South Khorasan Province in a 14-year period (1998-2012) using statistical methods. The number of samples studied included 20 wells, six qanats and three springs. Then, using GS + software, appropriate statistical methods were selected. Results showed that Kriging method was suitable for zoning of the factors. Using interpolation methods, appropriate spatial maps for each of the groundwater quality parameters (EC, TDS, and SAR) were obtained in three years (beginning, middle and end of the fourteen-year period). The results of the spatial variations of the TDS and SAR showed that the reduction of these two parameters was more severe in the middle and southern parts of the study area. To evaluate changes in groundwater depth in the plains, the depth maps of the ground water resources were prepared during the study period by the use of the results of measuring the depth of water in each of the observation wells. Results showed that in 1998, in the eastern and southern plains, the water was at a closer distance to the ground and with the advance toward the West and especially to the north, water was available in deeper parts of the ground. In the study area, the average amount of rainfall is less than the average amount of the whole of Iran and groundwater resources in agricultural water supply plays a fundamental role. Therefore, the sustainability of water resources is affected by sustainable management of underground water resources in the agricultural sector.
Hasan Ghelichnia
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 280-290
Abstract
Rangelands consist of different plant species with different vegetative and phenological characteristics that have a certain grazing value. Accordingly, livestock reveals particular grazing behavior. Without knowing these behaviors, range and livestock planning and management is not feasible. To understand ...
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Rangelands consist of different plant species with different vegetative and phenological characteristics that have a certain grazing value. Accordingly, livestock reveals particular grazing behavior. Without knowing these behaviors, range and livestock planning and management is not feasible. To understand the livestock behavior, The Niak site was selected in the mountain rangelands of Mazandaran in the Plour region. Livestock grazing behavior such as the distance traveled daily, the speed of the livestock, the time spent moving, resting and grazing were investigated using GPS. The study period was from 2007 to 2010. The results showed that livestock grazing behavior was different in different months of the season. Livestock grazing behavior showed no significant differences in different years. The maximum livestock movement (min) was recorded in slope class of 15- 30% and the lowest in slope class more than 60%. On average, the distance traveled by livestock in the first, second and third month of the grazing season was calculated to be 14.84 km, 13.30 km, and 12.38 km, respectively.
Seyyedeh Zohreh Mirdeilami; Adel Spehri; Hosein Barani
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 291-308
Abstract
Problems of Iranian rangelands are numerous and providing solutions for them is impossible except through comprehensive investigation. The purpose of this study was to extract the management structure of Iranian rangelands. The study tools were questionnaires and interview. This study was conducted in ...
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Problems of Iranian rangelands are numerous and providing solutions for them is impossible except through comprehensive investigation. The purpose of this study was to extract the management structure of Iranian rangelands. The study tools were questionnaires and interview. This study was conducted in three stages of exploration, evaluation, and analysis and extraction of the final structure. In the exploratory stage, the position of different parts of Iran's rangeland management structure was purposefully determined with a survey of experts in education, research, and executive sectors as well as rangeland exploiters. In this stage, the initial hierarchical structure of the factors influencing management of rangelands was designed (panel section). In the evaluation stage, using the questionnaire, the structure was subjected to the judgment of the responsive communities. In the final stage, using statistical analysis of data, the final hierarchical structure was extracted and designed. The accuracy and reliability of the resulting model was evaluated using Cronbach's coefficient. In this study, the statistical software SPSS 18 and STATISTICA were used. According to the results, Iran’s rangeland system consists of three levels in a hierarchical manner. Rangeland arena, education and research system, executive system and exploitation system are located in the first level. Each component at the first level was subdivided into its sub-components at lower levels. This structure more accurately categorizes the problems and makes it more understandable and more manageable. In this way, more strategic and managerial actions could be taken at each level and component.
Morteza Mofidi chelan; hosein Barani; Ahmad Abedi sarvestani; javad Moetamedi; Alireza darban Astane
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 309-324
Abstract
Evaluation of environmental-ecological sustainability is considered as one of the most important tools in sustainable development planning process. Therefore, attention to this issue is inevitable in policy-making and planning. There are no definite indices in relation to assessing environmental-ecological ...
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Evaluation of environmental-ecological sustainability is considered as one of the most important tools in sustainable development planning process. Therefore, attention to this issue is inevitable in policy-making and planning. There are no definite indices in relation to assessing environmental-ecological sustainability in rangelands and range allotments. Consequently, developing and validating of environmental sustainability evaluation indices in order to assessing sustainability in range allotments seem to be necessary. In the present study, 40 assessing indices of environmental-ecological sustainability were studied through exploratory interviews and literature review and then were subjected to the judgment of university professionals, experts and local elites using questionnaires. For validation and consensus, in addition to descriptive statistics, Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used. Indices like animal diversity, visual quality, sonic pollution level and air pollution level received low scores due to lack of suitability with rangeland allotments in regional scale. Among the indices, the highest and lowest scores were related to rangeland area and air pollution level, respectively. In the present study, 16 indices, as six components, were introduces, which could be a start point for developing a national model of evaluating sustainability indices, creating database of sustainability indices and quantifying them for obtaining sustainable development in natural resources, especially rangelands. Also, executive organizations could apply these indices for improving rangelands and beneficiaries’ condition as well as moving toward sustainability.
Hossein Badripour; Hosein Barani; Seyed Mahmoud Aghili; Ahmad Abedi Sarvestani
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 325-337
Abstract
Livestock keeping is one of the activities of rural households to maintain their needs. In Hable Rud basin like any other place in the country, livestock keeping has been common from the past. Until some time ago, a huge population immigrated into Hable Rud basin due to its high potential for agriculture ...
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Livestock keeping is one of the activities of rural households to maintain their needs. In Hable Rud basin like any other place in the country, livestock keeping has been common from the past. Until some time ago, a huge population immigrated into Hable Rud basin due to its high potential for agriculture and livestock keeping from other parts of the country but nowadays, many people emigrate from the area due to some reasons. Demographic data and socio-economic information revealed family size decrease, population ageing, fertility decline, high percentage of literacy, and in other words human capital of households living in the area has changed. Livestock keeping is an activity requiring continuous labor force, and a change in human capital would lead to a change in the form and condition of livestock keeping among rural households of the area. Thus, a study was conducted in the Damavand and Firoozkouh townships in the northern Hable Rud and Eivanaki and Aradan townships in the southern Hable Rud. The field survey method was applied for this study and researchers collected the data by questionnaires with the reliability of 78% according to the Cronbach's Alpha. In order to analyze the rural farmers' dependence on rangeland, nominal logistic regression was used by SPSS version 22. The study factors were family size, number of males, age of household head, household head's years of education, number of family members graduated from high school and university, family members' average years of education and human capital. According to the obtained results, among independent variables, just household head's age and education class affected the dependence of rural framers on rangeland and these factors could explain the dependence on rangeland varying between 8.6 to 11.5%.
reza bagheri
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 338-347
Abstract
Considering the creation of suitable microsites for rangeland species under the canopy of tree species in arid regions, this research was conducted to determine the spatial relationship between tree species in Prosopis sites and a variety of range species. The study was conducted on the Jazmourian ...
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Considering the creation of suitable microsites for rangeland species under the canopy of tree species in arid regions, this research was conducted to determine the spatial relationship between tree species in Prosopis sites and a variety of range species. The study was conducted on the Jazmourian margin of Kerman province. After selecting the area, 34 sites of 2000 m-square were sampled. Chi-square test and Dice and Jaccard indices were used to analyze the data. The results showed that tree species in the mixed Prosopis stands could change the structure of understory rangeland species. In this regard, Prosopis cineraria and Prosopis farcta showed significant positive effects on Capparis spinosa and Aeluropus littoralis (with a correlation coefficient of 0.61 and 0.22), and Alhagi graecorum (with a correlation coefficient of 0.42), respectively, while Prosopis juliflora had negative effects on the presence of Desmostachya bipinnata. As Tamarix stricta becomes dominant, the presence of non palatable species such as Stipa capensis and Desmostachya bipinnata is significantly highlighted, and the presence of palatable species like Aeluropus littoralis reaches zero. According to the results, Prosopis cineraria is recommended to be maintained as a domininat nursing species in the mixed stands to preserve valuable medicinal and forage species.
seyed Jafar seyed Akhlaghi; seyed Javad Miri Soleyman; Amin nemati
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 348-359
Abstract
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of economic, social and technical factors on the success rate of all executives in implementing combat desertification participatory projects in Sistan and Baluchistan province, 2013. The results of correlation coefficients showed that there was a statistically ...
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This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of economic, social and technical factors on the success rate of all executives in implementing combat desertification participatory projects in Sistan and Baluchistan province, 2013. The results of correlation coefficients showed that there was a statistically significant and positive relationship between the success rate of the executives in the implementation of combat desertification participatory projects in the province and variables including residence status of the executive in the region, executive and managerial skills, communication with expert and state supervisor before implementing the project, and the level of technical, regulatory and managerial support of natural resources experts in the province. Furthermore, the results of linear regression model estimation showed that three variables including the amount of bank facilities, personal investment of the executives in the implementation of the project, and the level of executive and managerial skills had a positive significant effect on the success rate of the executives in the implementation of combat desertification participatory projects. According to the results, it is suggested that the Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Management of the province should provide needed facilities with appropriate lending conditions to increase the willingness of individuals to implement the aforementioned projects. Secondly, in order to enhance the executive and managerial capability, the Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Management of the province should conduct training and practical courses on implementation of combat desertification projects.
Mahshid Souri; seyedeh Khadije mahdavi; sahra Tarverdizadeh saqzi
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 360-369
Abstract
This research was aimed to investigate the effects of range improvement treatments on vegetation performance. The study was conducted in Silvana rangelands, West Azerbaijan province. In this study, four improvement treatments including contour furrow, pitting, gabion and mortar stone dams were selected. ...
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This research was aimed to investigate the effects of range improvement treatments on vegetation performance. The study was conducted in Silvana rangelands, West Azerbaijan province. In this study, four improvement treatments including contour furrow, pitting, gabion and mortar stone dams were selected. A control site (with no improvement treatment) was also selected. Vegetation sampling was done in a random-systematic manner in key areas of each site. Vegetation parameters including production, canopy cover percentage, litter and density were measured Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Then, the mean values of parameters were compared with each other using the Duncan test. Statistical analysis was done in SPSS software. The results of one-way variance analysis indicated that the study mechanical improvement treatments had significant difference in terms of performance of plant parameters. According to the results, among the study treatments, contour furrow and mortar stone dam had the most positive impact on increasing and improving the performance of plant parameters, compared to other treatments in Silvana region.
Abolghasem Dadrasi Sabzevar; Alimohammad Akhondali; Fereydon Radmanesh; Aliakbar Norouzi
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 370-382
Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to make the preparation of soil surface moisture map applied in arid and semi-arid regions using satellite imagery of OLI and TIRS along with the calculated values for spectral reflectance, principal component analysis and Tasseled Cap transformation.Twenty-four predictor ...
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The purpose of this paper was to make the preparation of soil surface moisture map applied in arid and semi-arid regions using satellite imagery of OLI and TIRS along with the calculated values for spectral reflectance, principal component analysis and Tasseled Cap transformation.Twenty-four predictor variables were used and the most correlated ones were identified at three moisture levels of 4 to 5 percent, more than 5 percent and less than 4 percent by exploratory regression and bivariate correlation method through calculating the inflation factor of variance, Pearson coefficient and coefficient of explanation. The Moran'sI index was used for geo-spatial autocorrelation. Forty-seven soil samples were collected randomly by creating 1800-meter networks in a systematic algorithm and the soil moisture was calculated by W-thermal method. The estimation functions of soil surface moisture were derived in the form of partial least square regression (PLSR), enter regression and stepwise regression. All models had acceptable calibration. Our results clearly showed that the Landsat 8 data could be useful in estimating soil surface moisture and the accuracy of the functions extracted with stepwise regression method was more than that of other methods (RMSE=0.585 to 1.425 %). The models introduced for a moisture level of ≤5%, tend to over estimate (MBE= 0.788) and for other moisture levels tend to underestimate.
mehdi ghorbani; leila avazpour
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 383-391
Abstract
Degradation of arid and desert areas due to climate change and human activities has turned into a serious and alarming environmental challenge. The process of arid area management urged policy makers and planners to pay due attention to women as a focus group so that empowerment of women and winning ...
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Degradation of arid and desert areas due to climate change and human activities has turned into a serious and alarming environmental challenge. The process of arid area management urged policy makers and planners to pay due attention to women as a focus group so that empowerment of women and winning their collaboration is one of the fundamentals of development organizations of different countries. In present study, the social capital of rural women network was assessed through network analysis method by applying network analysis questionnaire and direct interview with members of women rural development groups in Tajmir village, Sarbishe County, South Khorasan province. As a matter of fact, trust and collaboration ties were measured based on macro-network indices (density, reciprocity, average Geodesic distance and the ratio of out-group ties to in-group ones). It was found out that the social capital and speed of the circulation of trust and collaboration bonds were moderate. Therefore, local community mobilization, social empowerment, social and economic stability of the relevant community, and last but not least, and the establishment of collaborative management necessitate an increase in the level of social capital, so that collaboration capacity is built to impact considerably on community-based collaborative management trend.
Nazila Tayeb Nejad; Younes Asri; Manije Pakravan; mohammadreza najibzadeh
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 392-403
Abstract
Acantholimon gilliatii, Astragalus aharicusand A. neo-mobayenii are the endemic species with one population in East Azarbaijan. Previous observations of researchers have shown that survival of these species at risk and their distribution is being limited. In this study, topographic, climatic and soil ...
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Acantholimon gilliatii, Astragalus aharicusand A. neo-mobayenii are the endemic species with one population in East Azarbaijan. Previous observations of researchers have shown that survival of these species at risk and their distribution is being limited. In this study, topographic, climatic and soil characteristics were investigated in habitats of these species. Also, coverage, height density and phenology of the study species were determined by using 10 plots in each area with random method during 2013 and 2014. The habitat of A. gilliatii is very limited in the southern slopes of the Mishodagh Mountain, with a slope of 15-30 %, an altitude of 2010 m, loam-sandy soil and cold semi-humid climate. Also, the habitat of A. aharicus is very limited in the southwestern slopes of the Kasabeh Mountain, with a slope of more than 60 %, an altitude of 1750 m, loam-clay calcareous soil and semi-arid climate. The habitat of A. neo-mobayenii is patchy in the northern slopes of the Mishodagh Mountain, with a slope of 60-70 %, an altitude of 1800 m, loam-sandy soil and cold semi-humid climate. It seems that droughts and heavy livestock grazing have resulted in limiting the populations of the study species. Therefore, adopting measures such as protecting the habitat of these species, investigation of the factors affecting the regeneration of these plants as well as pest control are essential to avoid the removal of these species from the natural arena.
Mohammad Khosroshahi; Morteza Abtahi; Mohammadtaghi Kashki; Sakine Lotfinasab; Fateme dargahian; Zohre Ebrahimi
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 404-417
Abstract
So far, different statistics have been presented for the area of deserts in the world and Iran by individuals and organizations. The reason for this difference is mainly due to the disagreement among experts in providing a comprehensive definition of desert and factors affecting its formation. In this ...
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So far, different statistics have been presented for the area of deserts in the world and Iran by individuals and organizations. The reason for this difference is mainly due to the disagreement among experts in providing a comprehensive definition of desert and factors affecting its formation. In this paper, the factors of natural environment, such as climate, vegetation, geomorphology, soil, geology and hydrology, whose effects are directly or indirectly involved in the emergence and general appearance of the desert, were investigated. Therefore, to identify and define the desert ranges in terms of the study factors, a number of indicators were defined, based on which desert zones were identified for each factor individually. Then, digital maps were produced by overlaying the layers. Results showed that the largest area of desert regions in Iran with a surface of 693690 and 567711 square kilometers is influenced by climatic and vegetation factors, respectively, and the least area of desert regions with a surface area of 208041 and 272,258 km is affected by the geological and geomorphologic factors, respectively. From the aspect of soil science, the area of desert regions in Iran covers a surface of 514930 km2. The total area of deserts was calculated to be 9007293 square kilometers, which accounts for 55 percent of the total area of Iran.
reza siahmansour; Morteza akbarzadeh; Ehsan Zandi Esfahan
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 418-428
Abstract
This research was carried out at the Zagheh research station in Lorestan province. A number of 440 individuals in each year and 2200 individuals in five years were cut and weighted inside and outside the exclosure. The difference in weight between the individuals outside and inside the exclosure indicates ...
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This research was carried out at the Zagheh research station in Lorestan province. A number of 440 individuals in each year and 2200 individuals in five years were cut and weighted inside and outside the exclosure. The difference in weight between the individuals outside and inside the exclosure indicates the amount of consumption. According to the results, there is a significant difference between the mean value of forage production and consumption in months and in different species (P<0.01). For the average of four years, the highest and lowest forage production was recorded in the third and second year, respectively. On average, forage production was calculated to be about 1,177 kg per year. On average during four years, 80% of the production was used by livestock. In all years, the highest amount of forage was produced in May. Ono.melanotricha, As. Remotijogus and As.bungei are consumed up to the basal area, while the highest consumption rate for Cen.virgata was obtained in June. Perennial grasses of the study site like Hor. bulbosum, Br.tomentellus, Festuca ovina, Stipa wiesnerii are also under severe grazing pressure. Under heavy grazing over a season, some species like Picris strigosa are not able to rejuvenate and their roots are shattered with little stress. Therefore, the imbalance between production and exploitation and inappropriate distribution is a major factor in the degradation of vegetation and rangeland ecosystems.
Jamal Imani; Ataollah Ebrahimi; Pejman tahmasebi; Bahram Gholinejad
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 429-440
Abstract
The use of satellite data is one of the proper methods, which makes studying ecosystems less costly. This research was carried out to determine the correlation among the vegetation cover of dominant species in three sites with the NDVI index. For this purpose, a study was conducted on three different ...
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The use of satellite data is one of the proper methods, which makes studying ecosystems less costly. This research was carried out to determine the correlation among the vegetation cover of dominant species in three sites with the NDVI index. For this purpose, a study was conducted on three different vegetation types. In each region, a range was determined for sampling. Then, within this range and in the horizontal direction, 30 sampling units of 30 x 30 m were selected along three 900-meter transects in a random-systematic manner. In each sampling unit, nested quadrates with dimensions of 1 × 1, 2 × 2 m were placed. In order to prevent geometric errors, the 900-meter ranges were 60 meters apart. Within each sampling unit, geographic coordinates were recorded with GPS. The number of individuals and canopy cover percentage of dominant species were recorded separately in the plots. Then, the correlation of canopy cover percentage with NDVI index was obtained by processing Landsat 8 images. The distribution pattern was also determined using species density data. The results showed that in all species, the correlation coefficient of NDVI index was higher in the plots with higher area. Also, the correlation coefficient with one quadrat increased towards five quadrats. Due to the lack of high correlation between the total canopy cover percentage of a quadrat and the NDVI index, the use of one quadrat inside the pixel is not recommended in any way. Selecting the type of sampling depends on distribution pattern and species size as well as access to facilities and correlation coefficient acceptability. For species with clumped distribution, more quadrats are needed with proper distribution inside the pixel on the ground, so that sampling could be a good representation of the total pixel. In uniform distribution, fewer samples are needed since the whole pixel is the same in terms of plant growth.
saeid shojaei; Mohammad Jafary
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 441-454
Abstract
Limitations of water resources in the country and allocating a large share of water to agriculture section and natural resources is considered as an essential and vital matter to increase the efficiency of consumption and saving water. In this context, using modern technology with the use of some additive ...
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Limitations of water resources in the country and allocating a large share of water to agriculture section and natural resources is considered as an essential and vital matter to increase the efficiency of consumption and saving water. In this context, using modern technology with the use of some additive materials like supplements to the soil can play a major role in reducing drought stress in arid and semi-arid areas. In this study, the effect of ABSAR supplement was investigated on physiological features of “Panicum eruciferum” species. Greenhouses were used to increase the accuracy of the culture medium. Treatments used in this study were included normal irrigation, ABSAR supplement at two concentrations (1/10000, 1/6000) and three times of irrigation (one-day, three- day and six-day). The results showed that ABSAR supplement at a concentration of 1/10000 increased root length, stem length, root and stem dry weight as well as root specific weight. Using ABSAR also increased the irrigation intervals. However, the supplement at a concentration of “1/6000” caused a significant difference in increasing the ratio of root to stem length. Irrigation with ABSAR supplement at a concentration of “1/10000” and “1/6000” had no significant effect on the ratio of root-to-shoot dry weight. The ratio of root- to-shoot length and the ratio of root-to-shoot dry weight increased with increasing of stress from daily irrigation to every six-day irrigation.
Abdolreza danaie; Damon razmjouiee; Shahram yousefi; Somayeh zolfaghari
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 455-463
Abstract
This research was conducted in 2015 in Hallaf (Khozestan province), to locate the potential habitat of Calligonum comosum with the use of GIS and analytic hierarchy. For this purpose, at first, the habitat of the study species was determined in the region and the current position of establishment was ...
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This research was conducted in 2015 in Hallaf (Khozestan province), to locate the potential habitat of Calligonum comosum with the use of GIS and analytic hierarchy. For this purpose, at first, the habitat of the study species was determined in the region and the current position of establishment was determined as the natural environment. Accordingly, the ecological needs of Calligonum were identified and recorded in these areas by GPS. To determine the species soil needs, 30 soil samples were taken from 0-50 cm depth. Soil texture, acidity (pH), and electrical conductivity of soil samples were measured. In the next step, layers of climate, physiographic and soil characteristics maps were prepared and standardized with the help of digital data in GIS. Then by using ARC GIS10 software, all the layers were weighted by AHP method. Eventually, by integrating thelayers in Arc GIS and weighted hierarchical model, the layer of potential habitat for the study species was obtained and presented on the map of the region. On the basis of potential habitat, the resulting map was divided into five classes as follows: very high suitability (38% with an area of 3775 hectares), high suitability (41% with an area of 4149 hectares), suitable (8.6% with an area of 798 hectares), low suitability (11% with an area of 1104 hectares), and very poor suitability (1.4% with an area of 148 hectares).
Ehsan Zandi; Ali Ashraf Jafari; rasoul mirakhorli
Volume 24, Issue 2 , July 2017, Pages 464-473
Abstract
Due to the adaptability to arid and desert conditions, halophytes could supply a part of livestock forage requirement in early spring, summer, and especially autumn. However, there is little information on the forage quality of these plants. On the other hands, halophytes vary considerably in their nutritive ...
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Due to the adaptability to arid and desert conditions, halophytes could supply a part of livestock forage requirement in early spring, summer, and especially autumn. However, there is little information on the forage quality of these plants. On the other hands, halophytes vary considerably in their nutritive value not only among species but also among phenological stages. Therefore, knowledge on forage quality of halophytes at each phenological stage could help the beneficiaries in arid regions to opt proper species for cultivation in haloculture programs as well as determining the suitable time for livestock grazing. In the present study, the effects of phenological stages on six forage quality traits were investigated for two halophytes ie., Atriplex leucoclada and Suaeda fruticosa. Plant samples were collected from saline lands in Garmsar, Semnan Province. The study was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications. The results showed that the effects of phenological stages and species on forage quality were significant (P<0.01).The highest forage quality was obtained at vegetative growth stage and then it declined at the seeding stage. Overall, our results clearly indicate the higher forage quality of Suaeda fruticosa as compared with Atriplex leucoclada. Therefore, Suaeda fruticosa could be introduced as a new source of forage in saline lands on which other conventional fodders have no chance to grow and yield.