Journal of Rangeland
Year:2019 | Volume:13 | Issue:2|Papers Count:10

Effective ecological factors on distribution of the Leucanthemum vulgare Lam, known as rangelands’ invader species was studied in Fandoghlou rangelands of the Namin in Ardabil province. Samples were collected from six sites with and without the L. vulgare species. The site specification differences was tested by independent T-test. To determine the importance of the effective variables on distribution of the species, Linear Discriminant Analysis was used. The results showed that the effect of slope aspect, electrical conductivity, magnesium, soluble sodium, phosphorus, lime, volumetric moisture content (p<0. 01) are meaningful. Potassium and organic matter (p<0. 05) also were found effective on presence/ absence of L. vulgare. In general, 15 factors (slope, aspect, rainfall, temperature, acidity, electrical conductivity, calcium, potassium, soluble potassium, soluble sodium, phosphorus, lime, organic matter, silt percentage and volumetric moisture content) were identified as the most important factors on distribution of the L. vulgare.

In this study, the effects of three climatic variables including air temperature, air carbon dioxide concentration and soil moisture investigated on growth and some physiological parameters of two main rangeland species Bromus tomentellus Boiss pasture and Agropyron trichophorum (Link) Richt. For this purpose, a rootstock from each species collected, asexually reproduced in sufficient numbers and then the treatments of carbon dioxide concentration, temperature and soil moisture were applied at two levels and four replications. The results showed that elevated carbon dioxide concentration from 380 to 700 µ mol mol-1, increased SPAD value (36. 5%), chlorophyll a concentration (27. 1%), chlorophyll b concentration (54. 9%) and shoot dry weight (23. 4%), but reduced stomatal conductance (33. 1%). Increasing air temperature from 20± 5 to 25± 5 ° C, reduced stomatal conductance, chlorophyll a concentration, chlorophyll b concentration and shoot dry weight by 13. 5, 44. 7, 44. 2 and 23. 5%, respectively. Insufficient rainfall caused to reduction of stomatal conductance (41%), SPAD value (32. 9%), chlorophyll a concentration (56. 7%), chlorophyll b concentration (54. 8), carotenoid concentration (47. 0%) and shoot dry weight (36. 9%). In terms of studied traits, two rangeland species was significantly different, so that the means values of SPAD, chlorophyll a concentration, chlorophyll b concentration, carotenoid concentration and dry matter weight of A. trichophorum was higher than B. tomentellus. Therefore, based on forecast conditions in the A2 scenario for 2080s, the performance of A. trichophorum will be better due to positive response to increasing CO2 and ameliorating the negative effects of rising temperature and decreasing rainfall.

Role of local communities’ awareness on the economic value of Atriplex canescence in terms of carbon sequestration on the maintain and even improvement of their rangelands is the scope of this study. In the first stage of the study the economic value of rangeland was measured. Carbon capture method was used to calculate the carbon uptake. Burning methods in the electric furnace was used for direct value of carbon sequestration while carbon tax policy method and the carbon emission cost for its’ shadow value. Pre and post knowledge transfer on participatory range management in sake of rangelands maintenance and improvement was assessed. Conditional valuation method and two-dimensional double-choice questionnaire were used for the study. As results showed training have had a significant effect on the willingness of local people to pay for conservation of pasture. In terms of monetary value, the average willingness to pay for pre-training condition was 45680/02 rials per month for the post training however, it was 89, 600 rials. These results indicate that the effect of environmental awareness on participation of the local communities for maintenance of rangelands is significant.

Change in the soil carbon content of semi-steppe rangelands driven by collective functions of dung beetles was investigated using a completely randomized design. Two mesh sizes of 1cm and 1mm were used to exclude different functional groups of dung beetle related to sheep and cattle dung. The functional groups attributed as large and small tunellers (T, t), large and small rollers (R, r) and dwellers (D) and combined into several treatments numbered as 1-presence of all beetles (D+T+t+R+r+), 2-presence of dwellers and tunellers (D+T+t+R-r-), 3-absence of rollers, presence of dwellers and small tunellers and rollers (D+T+t+R-r+), 4-absence of large roller, presence of dwellers, absence of large tunellers and presence of small tunellers (D+T-t+R+r+), 5-presence of small and large rollers, presence of dwellers (D+T-t+R-r-), 6-presence of dwellers, absence of large tunellers and small and large rollers (D+T-t+R-r+) also 0 presence of beetle as a control (D-T-t-R-r-). Then, different soil properties under the soil treatments including carbon (C) and nitrogen content (N), soil bulk density, pH, EC, sulfate of the treatments measured and compared among dung beetles functional groups. The results showed that the highest amounts of N and C were related to the second treatment where all groups were present and increased 1. 96 % and 0. 17 % for C and N compared to control respectively in the case of cattle dung. For sheep dung, the highest amount of C and N were observed for presence of small and large rollers, presence of dwellers (D+T-t+R-r-) and increased 2. 02 and 0. 14 % compared to control. The results also showed the significant difference among the different functional groups of cattle and sheep dung beetle for bulk density, acidity, electrical conductivity, lime and sulfate. The results indicate that different functional groups may have different impacts on soil properties and their activities lead to an input of nutrients and carbon into the soil food webs, which play an important role in regulating key soil processes and thus contributes to the ecosystemchr('39')s processes. Further researches on the effects of dung beetles on rangeland ecosystem function are needed in order to improve our knowledge for the effective managements of rangeland in particular in steppe and semi-steppe regions.

Preserving species diversity is one of the important objectives of ecosystem management. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of drill seeded enclosures on vegetation changes in Tang-e-Sorkh rangelands in Boyerahmad province, Iran. Samples were taken from two areas: a 10 years exclosure plus drill seeding with Ferula assa-foetida L. and an area which is currently grazed as the control site. For sampling purpose, three 100-meter transects were put in each area, then for every ten meters of the transect a plot of one square meter was installed. Species richness were assessed through well known indicators, such as Sheldonchr('39')s evenness index, Shannon entropy, Simpson index. Results of two sites were statistically compared. The multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the response of plant species to exclosure and grazing conditions. In general, 47 and 41 species were identified respectively in exclosure and grazing regions having 28 of species in common. Results also showed that 19 and 13 species are unique to the exclosure and control area, respectively. As the results of the statistical comparison it is concluded the exclosure area has a significantly higher diversity and richness than the grazing area, but there is no significant difference in uniformity (evenness) between the two regions. Ré nyi entropy profile showed that the exclosure area where the alpha values is higher than one, has higher diversity than the grazing area. There is no significant difference between the canopy cover percentage of different vegetation groups in these two regions, but the exclosure area has a higher rate of overall plant cover percentage. Results of this study suggest the expansion of the exclosure areas with drill seeding using medical plants and valuable indigenous species, such as Ferula assa-foetida L., also systematic grazing program is proposed in the studied area.

Determination of animal unit, is one of the essential requirements for calculating the grazing capacity. For the purpose of this study, 24 breeds of sheep, significantly dominant and well distributed across the climatic regions, were identified. Two herds were selected from available flocks in each region. Randomly, 30 livestock from each herd at different ages and sex were selected and weighed in different seasons. Using cluster analysis, and on the basis of the average adult weight of races, animal unit size was determined. From the ratio of metabolic weight of sheep breeds to metabolic weight of livestock unit the conversion factor (equivalent of animal units) of each breed was calculated. Then on based of puberty weight breeds were put into three separate weight groups (light, medium and heavy). The average weight of races was found to be 50 kg. Accordingly, an animal unit for small grazing dry and non-pregnant livestock is reported as 50 kg. The conversion coefficient of 0. 7, 1 and 1. 3, were used to calculate the light, medium and heavy body size classes of animals compared to the animal unit weight respectively. The daily requirement for an animal unit estimated as 6. 80 MJ. using MAFF (1984) equation. A value of 30-80 percent must be added to the calculated value considering the topographic conditions, distance from water sources and animal daily orbit to/from resting area which requires more energy, in various climate conditions.

Creation of a side-by-side and consolidated economic activities will improve the livelihoods and economic status of the tribes. Development of Ecotourism could be a response to this need of nomads. This research was conducted in the central Lar region of Alborz mountains. Comparing and prioritizing of nomadic tourism on the indicators of sustainable livelihoods of local communities was the main focus of the study. AHP method was used to question priorities and importance of the indicators. Experienced experts and local people were used to fill in the questioners on sustainable livelihoods influenced by indigenous development in nomadic areas. Also, after prioritizing sustainability criteria and indicators, to compare the average rating of the priorities, mean difference test is used. The results showed that from the expert’ s point of view nature and ecological capital with the final weight of 0. 35 are most important elements while local users believe that economic investment with the final weight of 0. 39 will mostly affected by the development of nomadic tourism. Ranking of indicators show that development of nomadic tourism is at the top and other criteria are in the next rank. Also, the results showed that for 14 indices i. e. environmental pollution, wildlife presence, plant species diversity, tribes trust each other, womenchr('39')s presence and role, employment level, variety of manufactured products, creating marketplaces and access to electricity and telephone, there is significant disagreements. It could be concluded that prior to development of ecotourism in the region, infrastructure’ s by economic and cultural means should be built.

Eremostachys laevigata is a medicinal and endangered plant that growth in the Iran-Turani ecological region, especially Azerbaijan. It’ s medicinal active ingredients is effective on rheumatic disorders and joint pains. Sampling from three provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Ardabil was carried out in order to investigate the various parameters of morphological and biomass peoperties. For this purpose, 17 feature of the plant collected fromseven sites were measured and classificatied interms of their most important features. According to the results of the analysis of variance, most of the 17 traits were significantly affected by their location. Most of the features showed an outstanding result in Meshkin-Shahr and Oshnavieh, and there is no significant difference between the site leaf area indices. The results of main components analysis of traits showed that the first three components had data variance of about 89 percent. In the first component, the traits of aerial wet biomass weight, collar diameter, main stem diameter, height, internodes number, inflorescence length, inflorescence per plant, basal leaf weight, aerial dry biomass weight and underground biomass weight have played a major role in the formation of this component. In the second component of the trait, the length to width ratio of leaves has more specific vector coefficients. With moving from Oshnavieh and Meshkin-Shahr to other sites having less annual precipitation the characteristics of the specific area index and the length-to-width ratio were increased, and the amount of many attributes are reduced. Also, by moving from Khoy, Khajeh and Meshkin-Shahr locations and increasing the annual mean temperature, the length to width ration of the leaves, aerial wet biomass weight and underground biomass weight were decreased, and in the event of a vice versa movement, on the characteristics of the specific area index, the length and width ration of the leaf, basal leaf width and basal leaf length are increased. Fitting of the dendrogram shows the division of sites based on Euclidian similarity index with the rate of 87. 5 to four distinct groups. The first group consists of Khoy and Khajeh, the second Jazire-eslami, the third as Meshkin-Shahr and Oshnavieh and fourth incudes Ahar and Kaleybar. The dendrogram of grouping the traits with Euclidean similarity of 87. 5 divided the traits into eight distinct clusters. First cluster included aerial wet biomass weight, underground biomass weight, aerial dry biomass weight, second cluster incudes collar diameter, main stem diameter, height, internodes number, inflorescence per plant, third cluster including inflorescence length, fourth cluster included number of flowered branch, basal leaf area and basal leaf weight, fifth cluster including basal leaf width, sixth cluster including basal leaf length, seventh category including Inflorescence diameter, and specific leaf area, and finally eighth cluster Includes the length to width ration of leaf.

This research conducted with overall objective of collecting the Strategic data for Sustainable use of the rangelands. The statistical population are experts from the Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Management in Kerman province. Based on the results of the research, the most important strengths and weaknesses of sustainable exploitation of rangelands were lack of organization for that restorion of exploitation cooperatives is of the ways that promotes the sustainability of the use. Results also suggest that deed the rangelands to them under certain monitoring system could be useful. Of the weakness of the system is the low cultureal understanding of sustainability among the local communities. Overgrazing is one the reason of the weakness. Opportunities and threats in this field were ‘ Coherent, long-term, goal-oriented, and verifiable stage-and-end planning to ensuring the successful implementation of the natural resource sub-projects. The treats are known as reduction of economic power and poverty among local communities due to the droughts and pressure on rangelands. Appropriate strategies using quantitative matrix management (QSPM) were determined. The most important strategies were ‘ keeping the agricultural land values low in suck away that rangelands do not change to cultivated lands, land use change. Identification of land users and determination of stocking rates as it has been recoded in their grazing licences.

One of the most important issues in managing rangelands is providing comprehensive information on plant species and their habitat needs. The purpose of this study was to identify the most influential ecological factors on A. oliganthum growth on high elevated rangelands of Hamadan province. The study conducted in spring and summer of 2017. For data collection three levels of elevation (2300-2100, 2500-2300 and 2500 meters up), three slope classes (30-20%, 50-30% and> 50) and four main slope directions (north, east, south and west) were identified. At each level, the abovementioned factors were identified (sampling site) and measured. Land mapping units were plotted as a result of map overly. Within the land mapping units three soil profiles were randomly stablished with the depth of 30 cm (effective depth of soil on the plant). For each profile a mixed soil sample was collected and analyzed in the lab. As results showed all three factors, altitude, slop angle and slope aspect, had a significant effect on the soil coverage percentage and density of the species (p<0. 01). The interaction of all three factors are less but significant (p<0. 05). Based on the results of PCA analysis, A. oliganthum has direct correlation with slope aspect, altitude, depth of gravel, sand, potassium and limestone; it could be said that the above factors have the greatest effect on the coverage and density of this species.