Comparison of plant species indices under wildlife and livestock grazing site
Paper Details
Comparison of plant species indices under wildlife and livestock grazing site
Abstract
Vegetation changes in terms of specific plant or family can determine vegetation composition, rangeland condition, grazing pressure and herbivores food preference. Therefore, it can be a base for ecosystem planning and rangelands management. This research tried to compares some of plant species indices between two regions under livestock and wildlife grazing in Kalmand-Bahadoran plain rangelands of Yazd province. For this purpose, in the first step two areas of Kalmand-Bahadoran plain rangelands of Yazd province were selected. Sampling was done using random-systematic method. In each plot and along each transect, species names, families, their presence and absence, canopy cover percentage, production and density for each species were noted. The results showed that in livestock grazing site, the dominant species (Artemisia sieberi), Stipa barbata (p<0.01) and Scorzonera sp. Canopy cover (p<0.05) increased significantly, while Colchicum kotschyi, Iris songarica (p<0.05) and Stachys inflata canopy cover (p<0.01) decreased. In deer grazing area, in terms of production and density, some species like Stachys inflata, Colchicum kotschyi, Aegopordon berardioides and Boissiera squarrosa (p<0.01) had significantly increased in comparison to livestock grazing area but Stipa barbata and Scorzonera sp. (p<0.05) raised significantly in livestock grazing site. According to results, it is necessary to recognize all vegetation aspects in rangelands specially plant species indices in order to proper grazing management and decide for future restoration planning.
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