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:: Volume 1, Issue 3 ((Volume 1 - No. 3 - Autumn 2013) - Article Numbers: 7 Article(s) 2013) ::
PEC 2013, 1(3): 91-104 Back to browse issues page
Response of plant communities’ function and species diversity to grazing along a gradient of rainfall for protecting steppe and semi-steppe rangelands
Zeinab Mansoori * , Pejman Tahmasebi2 , Mostafa Seedfar3 , Hamzeh Ali Shirmardi4
Faculty of Natural Resources and Earth Science, University of Shahrekord , zmansoori182@yahoo.com
2- Faculty of Natural Resource and Earth Science,University of Shahrekord
3- Research Center of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Isfahan
4- University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources,Sari University
Abstract:   (12858 Views)
Investigating the interaction of rainfall and animal grazing, as an indicator of habitat productivity, on function and the species diversity of plant communities, is key factor that can help managers in evaluating and predicating changes in vegetation cover, so the current study was undertaken in response of the function and species diversity of plant communities to animal grazing and precitpitation in 41 regions of steppe and semi-steppe rangelands of Chahrmhal Bakhtiari and Isfahan province. Vegetation cover data of 41 regions was gathered from previous studies and classified into light and heavy grazing intensity. The plant community diversity indices (richness, evenness, Simpson, Shannon) for all areas were determined by the Pc-Ord software after calculating the RAO index (function diversity). The effect of significant changes of grazing, precipitation and their interaction were used in Spss-17 software by the general linear analysis (GLM). To do so, the general linear model in SPSS 17 was used. Finally the correlation between the diversity indices with the divercity function was calculated and shown through simple regular regression. The results of GLM illustrated that the response of evenness to the changes of precipitation and species richness to the grazing intensity were significant (p <0.05). Among the indicators of species diversity, only the evenness in plant communities had significant correlation with function diversity (P<0.05). Results revealed that only the function diversity was increased with animal grazing which was consistent with the strategy of using different food sources. The ecosystem function was mostly affected by species characteristics and evenness.
Keywords: Rainfall changes, Animal grazing, Function diversity, Species diversity, General LinearModel (GLM).
Full-Text [PDF 921 kb]   (2424 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2013/10/1 | Accepted: 2014/03/3 | Published: 2014/07/11
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Mansoori Z, Tahmasebi P, Seedfar M, Shirmardi H A. Response of plant communities’ function and species diversity to grazing along a gradient of rainfall for protecting steppe and semi-steppe rangelands. PEC 2013; 1 (3) :91-104
URL: http://pec.gonbad.ac.ir/article-1-72-en.html
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Volume 1, Issue 3 ((Volume 1 - No. 3 - Autumn 2013) - Article Numbers: 7 Article(s) 2013) Back to browse issues page
مجله حفاظت زیست بوم گیاهان Journal of Plant Ecosystem Conservation
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