Increasing sustainable rangeland ecosystem services such as forage production and diversity are among the main aims of restoration practices. This study aimed to assess the effects of small micro-catchment semi-circular bunds on some diversity and richness indices in Naroon rangeland located in Khash- Sistan & Balochestan province. A systematic random sampling method was used to establish ten 150 meters transects in the treated and control sites (5 transects in each site). Ten sampling plots (2m × 2m) were established along each transect randomly and the vegetation attributes including plant density and species richness were measured. Diversity indices of treated and control sites were compared using independent sample t-test in Minitab16. Abundance distribution models were fitted using PAST program. According to the results, vegetation cover, plant diversity and diversity indices between treated and control sites varied significantly (α= 5%) but the richness indices did not varied statistically. Log-normal model was the best fitted parametric model among the species abundance models including (geometric series, log series, broken stick and log-normal) for the study area. The result confirmed high stability of the vegetation community in the study area as plant species with moderate to high frequency were dominant. Overall, using small micro-catchment semi circular bunds in the study area resulted to more evenness in vegetation and enhanced the diversity and stability of the vegetation in the study area.
 

Keywords: Species diversity, richness, frequency models, stability, small micro-catchment semi-circular bunds.

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