Journal of Rangeland

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The aim of this study was to determine and compare the mineral concentration in the milk of grazing ewes in rangelands of northern and southeastern Sabalan. For this purpose, three range sites in 1800-2100, 2300-2700 and 3200-3700 meter from sea level in the rangeland of south-eastern Sabalan and 1300-1800, 1800-25800 and 2500-3200 m  elevations in northern Sabalan were selected as the study site. Soil samples were collected and plant biomass in a 1 m² were measured and grazed sheep milk grazed in these sites were collected for the measurement of mineral concentrations. The minerals concentrations of Calcium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese and Iron in collected samples were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and flame photometer. Data was analyzed in a completely randomized design using SAS9.1 software and the General Linear Model procedure was used for statistical analysis. The results showed that Ca (619.49 mg/kg), P (607.41 mg/kg), K (1399.29 mg/kg), Mg (165.01 mg/kg), Cu (1312.9 µg/kg), Zn (10920 µg/kg) and Mn (732.6 µg/kg) in grazing sheep milk in the site of 1300-1800 m of south-eastern Sabalan were significantly higher (P<0.05). Ca (937.57 mg/kg), P (320.55 mg/kg), Na (924.75 mg/kg), Mg (100.05 mg/kg), Fe (24041 µg/kg), Cu (2384.7 µg/kg) and Mn (1355.79 µg/kg) in grazing sheep milk at 2500-3200m elevation of northern Sabalan were significantly higher (P<0.05). According to the results, of most elements except calcium, copper and manganese in milk of grazed sheep in rangelands of south-eastern Sabalan were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the sheep grazed on northern slopes. . In general, the results showed that the ecological conditions such as altitude and aspect of rangelands has great influence on mineral concentration of  sheep milk in Sabalan through their  effets on the soil and plant minerals.

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The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of environmental factors on distribution of Artemisia fragrans and Artemisia austriaca in southeastern rangelands of Sabalan. For this purpose, 140 sites were selected based on a random- systematic approach. The density of selected plant species were measured in five plots of 1m², established along a 40 meters transect in each site. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 30 cm of soil surface in the beginning, middle and end part of each transect and their EC, OC, K, P, Lime, pH, TNV, sand, clay and silt content were measured. Litter and bare soil percentage were also measured in each site. One way ANOVA was performed to explore the relationships between the environmental factors characteristics and presence and absence of the selected species. Duncan's test was used to compare the mean values of the measured variables. Discriminant analysis was used to determine the importance of measured variables on the distribution of A. fragrans and A. austriaca and grouping the sampling sites. According to the results, the two produced functions were explained 86 % and 14% of the variances. The results indicated that 94/2% of grouped sites were classified correctly. Litter, elevation, precipitation, temperature, OC, bare soil, gravel, K, sand, silt, slope and aspect were identified as the most important factors, influencing the distribution of A. fragrans and A. austriaca in the study area.

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This study aimed to study the effects of some environmental factors on  distribution of  Prangos ferulacea Lindl in rangelands of Ardabil province. The vegetation cover and density of the species were studied using 10 square plots (2×2 m) along three 100 meteres transects in all the seven studied sites. The soil samples from the presence and adjusent area with no Pr. ferulacea occurrence were collected from the beginning, middle and end of each transect. Altitude, slope and aspect of all samples were recorded. Soil properties including nitrogen, phosphorus, potasium, organic matter, pH, EC, and soil texture of the collected soil samples were determined in laboratory. Various analytical and classification methods (e.g. t test, ANOVA and cluster analysis) were used to compare the condition of presence and absence site of the species. According to the results, this species prefer habitats with high altitude, steep slope with high organic matter. More specifically, Pr. ferulacea habitats characterized by altitude of 1790m, slope more than 80%, precipitation of 227-358mm per year, average annual temperature of 9-11 cetigerade, and organic matter of 0.98-1.35%. The results indicated that the species prefer lomy soils with high nitrogen and potassium content. According to the disriminative analysis, the occurrence of Pr. ferulacea depends more on climate variables (e.g. precipitation and temperature), and physiographic condition (e.g. elevation and slope) than soil variabels.  The results of this study can assist managers to identify appropriate sites for establishing the species in the field.

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In this study the effects of different geographical aspects (north and south-east faced slopes) and grazing intensities (light, moderate and heavy grazing intensities) on the growth condition of Festuca ovina L. in Sabalan rangelands were investigated. Total rangeland productions under various grazing intensities and rangeland conditions (e.g. good, fair and poor) were measured by establishing 30 plots in each aspect. Three transects with 50 meters lengths were established in various grazing intensities on both aspects. Ten F. ovina bunches were selected randomly and their above and below grounds were collected, air dried and weighed in the flowering stage. Quantitative traits such as the species above and belowground dry matter, root length, aerial height, inflorescence length under various grazing intensities and aspects were measured. According to ANOVA, the species mean dry matters were significantly different in various grazing intensities and aspects (p <0.01).  The measured traits under the same grazing intensities were higher in south-east aspect compared to the north aspects. The measured traits of the species were differed significantly under heavy grazing pressure between the various slope sites (p<0.01). This study highlights physiological and morphogenesis responses of  F. ovina to grazing pressure and environmental properties such as sunlight and aspects. This information can be used to achieve sound management strategies in Sabalan rangelands.

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Understanding the relationships of plant species with ecological factors is required in rangelands restoration programs. This study aimed to identify the most important effective ecological factors on the distribution of Artemisia aucheri Boiss. Random systematic sampling method was used to collect vegetation data in 200 plots placed along 20 transects with 100 meters long. The data were collected from the presence and absence sites of the species and their species cover percentage, litter, stone, gravels and bare soil were recorded. Thirty six soil samples were collected from the depth of 0-15 cm soil surface and their selected parameters were measured in the laboratory. Independent t test, Principal Component Aanalysis (PCA) and Discriminate Analyses (DA) were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that A.aucheri prefer habitats with 2100 to 2300 m altitudes, 485 to 520 mm rainfall, 11.16 to 12.17 °C temperatures, soil pH 6.6 to 7.2 and moderate to heavy soil texture. Results indicated that soil condition of appropriate habitats for the species is characterized by soil organic materials contents of 3.4 to 3.6% and Phosphorus 12 to 12.3 ppm.  Results of PCA analysis showed that elevation, rainfall and temperature, pH, slope, clay content, mean weight diameter, aspect, electrical conductivity, water dispersion clay and percent of litter can explains 52.36% of the variations of this species. Gravel percentage, phosphorous, potassium, calcium carbonate, organic matter, particulate organic matter, clay and distribution of soil particles were identified as the most important factors affecting the species occurrence using discriminate analysis. The species were absent in the areas with gravel less than 10%, slope with 15.1 to 15.6%, acidity with 7.4 to 7.6 and phosphorus with 11 to 11.2 ppm.
 

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This study aimed to investigate the effects of environmental factors on the distribution of Prangos ferulacea Lindl. and Prangos uloptera Lindl. in rangelands of Ardabil province. Four habitats of P. uloptera and three habitats of P. ferulacea were selected and three transects with 100m length were established in each habitat. Canopy cover and density of the species were measured in 10 plots with a size of 4 m² along the transects. The elevation, slope, and aspect of the established quadrates were recorded. One-way ANOVA and Tukey test were used to analyze the data. Discriminant analysis was used to assess the importance of the environmental and edaphic factors on the distribution of the species. The results showed that P. uloptera prefered habitats with organic matter of 1.69%, nitrogen of 0.15%, phosphorus of 3 ppm, potassium of 273 ppm, elevation of 2066 m, a slope of 86 %, loamy texture, and mean annual precipitation of 395 mm compared to P. ferulacea . P. ferulacea grow in habitats with lower pH, higher sand, and temperature and sandy loam soil texture compared to P. uloptera. The results of this study can be used by managers to identify appropriate habitats for rehabilitation and restoration programs in rangeland ecosystems.
 

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Primary production and the contribution of each of the life forms of rangeland ecosystems are key features. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of rainfall and temperature changes on the amount of total production and life forms: grasses, forbs and shrubs in Sabalan^,s rangelands. For determining of annual primary production (Full bloom stage), different species using one square meter plots by cutting and weighting method in different elevation was harvested in 6 plant types (totally 216 plots). Rainfall classes and temperature parameters were determined using the data of weather stations and derived relevant gradient. Then, climatic parameters for plots was derived by considering the position of sampling plots. Correlation between the life forms and total production with rainfall and temperature parameters were analyzed using multivariate regression method in SPSS₁₆ software. Results show that, climatic parameters with the life forms production of grasses (P<0.01), forbs (P<0.01) and shrubs (P<0.01) have significant relationship, however there was no significant relationship between total production and selected climatic factors. Moreover, results show that the production of grasses are more affected by climatic factors in comparison with the other two life forms and have significant differences in different classes. Additionally, forbs production is more than shrubs affected by the selected climatic factors. The result of study can be used for the calculate primary production in mountain region, supply-demand balance of forage, biomass, health Ecosystem, Ecological balance and carbon sequestration.