The effect of fire on the structural and functional characteristics of vegetation (case study: Astragalus spp. habitat of Kabodeh, Kermanshah)

Borzou Yousefi ¹ (Department of Natural Resources Research, Kermanshah Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kermanshah, Iran) Mohammad Gheitury ² (Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Research, Kermanshah Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kermanshah, Iran)
Mosayeb Heshmati ³ (Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Research, Agriculture and Natural Research Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kermanshah, Iran, Iran) Reza Siahmansour ⁴ (Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Reasearch, Lorestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Khorramabad, Iran)

تاریخ ارسال : 1400/12/07 تاریخ تایید : 1401/10/03

کلید واژه: Canopy cover, production, Density, Range condition, Range trend, Rangeland fire,

چکیده مقاله :

Wildfires annually occur as a threatening factor in natural resources at a large scale. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effects of fire on the structural and functional characteristics of vegetation in the Kaboudeh range site, Kermanshah province, Iran during three years (2018-2020). An unburned range (control) was selected near the burned range. Both sites had the same characteristics. Sampling was preformed at a stratified random with four 50 m transects and 20 m distances as well as 10 fixed quadrates (1 m2). The spatial correlation was performed between quadrates.Data were collected for plant density (no/m2), canopy cover (%), and production (g/cm) for species and palatability classes. The range condition and range trend were evaluated using four factors and balance methods. The results showed that the palatable plants in the fire site were decreased with density (1.7 no/m2), production (4.1 g/m2), and canopy cover (3.9 %) compared to the control. In the first years after the fire, the fire decreased the number of palatable plants, and decreased the average values of production and canopy cover both by approximately 75%, butthe class II plants had not significantly decreased.In the burned site, the invasive plants (Class III), dominated by annual grasses, have spread rapidly across the range.The range condition in the burned area was poor andrange condition trend was positive, but in the control area,range condition was medium and range condition trendwas constant.In the short term, fire drastically caused the increase of annual grasses,decrease of species diversity, and subsequentlyled to a decrease in the stability of the range.