Species Richness, Evenness and Plant Community Stability 22 Years after Ploughing a Semiarid Rangeland
محورهای موضوعی : Relationship between Animal and Rangeland
Mohammad Jankju
1
(Department of Range and Watershed Management, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad)
Fariba Noedoost
2
(Department of Biology, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology, Behbahan)
کلید واژه: Vegetation dynamics, Biodiversity, Abandoned field, Disturbance, Important value,
چکیده مقاله :
Rangeland ploughing and cultivation using dry land farming crops may be amajor reason for the destruction of natural resources in the semiarid and sub-humid regionswhich may significantly change the composition and reduce the stability of the affectedcommunities. In present research, an abandoned ploughed site was compared with a nearbyreference site in the semiarid rangelands of Baharkish, Quchan, Iran in spring and summerof 2010. Frequency and canopy cover of all plant species were recorded within 40quadrates of 1m2 area. Simpson, Shannon-Weiner, Hill and Macintosh indices forbiodiversity, Margalof and Menhening for richness and Camargo, Simpson, Modified Nee,Smith and Wilson for evenness were used. Floristic composition, plant life forms, andimportant value of major plant species were compared with respect to the sites. Landploughing and subsequent abandonment had increased total number of plant species(richness) but decreased the species heterogeneity (evenness). It resulted to non-significantdifferences in species diversity between the ploughed and reference sites. Ploughing hadincreased (8%) the important values of respruting plant species. Therefore, patchydistribution of clonal plants had reduced species evenness within the abandoned site.Furthermore, there were some increases in number of therophytes (100%) buthemicryptophytes (24%), chamaephyte (33%) and phanerophyte (100%) species werereduced in the abandoned site. In conclusion, lower evenness and high proportion ofannual plants should make the abandoned site more fragile and sensitive against the futureenvironmental fluctuations.
Asadi, M. et al.,1998-2002. Flora of Iran vol. 1-51. The research institute of forest and rangelands publication, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
Asri, Y. and Mehrni, A., 2002. Introducing the flora of central part of the Sefid-kouh protected area. Iranian Jour. Natural Research, 55(3): 363–378.
Bazzaz, F. A., 1968. Succession on abandoned fields in the Shawnee hills southern Illinois. Ecology, 49: 924–936.
Chapin, F. S., Zavalets, E. S., Eviner, V. T., Naylor, R. L., Vitousek, R. L., Reynolds, H. L., Hooper, D. U., Lavorel, S., Sala, O. E., Hobbie, S. E., Mack, M. C. and Diaz, S., 2000. Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature, 405: 234–242.
Connell, J. H., 1978. Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science, 199: 1302–1309.
Ehleringer, J. R., Schwinning, S. and Gebauer, R. L. E., 1999.Water use in arid land ecosystems. In: Press, M.C., Scholes, J.D., & Barker, M.G., (eds). Physiological Plant Ecology pp. 347-365. Black well Science Ltd.
Ejtehadi, H., Sepehry, A. and Akkafi, H. R., 2009. Methods of measuring biodiversity. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Press, Iran. (In Persian).
El-Sheikh, M. A., 2005.Plant succession on abandoned fields after 25 years of shifting cultivation in As suit, Egypt. Jour. Arid Environments, 61: 461–481.
Fulbright, T. E., 1996. Viewpoint: a theoretical basis for planning woody plant control to maintain species diversity. Jour. Range Management, 49: 554–559.
Fulbright, T. E., 1999. Response of white-tailed deer foods to discing in a semiarid habitat. Jour. Range Management, 52: 346–350.
Fulbright, T. E., 2004. Disturbance effects on species richness of herbaceous plants in a semi-arid habitat. Jour. Arid Environments, 58: 119–133.
Grime, J. P., 1973.Competitive exclusion in herbaceous vegetation. Nature, 242: 344–347.
Guo, Q. F., 1996. Effects of banner tail kangaroo rat mounds on small-scale plant community structure. Oecologia, 106: 247–256.
Hammouda, S. K., Heneidy, S. Z. and El-Kady, H. F., 2003. Effect of ploughing on plant species abundance and diversity in the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt. Biodiversity and Conservation, 12: 749-765
Hayek, L. A. C., Buzas, M. A. and Osterman, L. E., 2007.Community structure of foraminiferal communities within temporal biozones from the western Arctic Ocean. Jour. Foraminiferal Research, 37(1): 33–40.
Hobbs, R. J. and Huenneke, L. F., 1992. Disturbance, diversity, and invasion: implications for conservation. Conservation Biology, 6: 324–337.
Jankju, M., 2006. Individual performances and interaction between arid land plants affected by the growth season water pulses. Jour. Arid land Research and Management, 22:123-133.
Jankju, M., 2009. Range improvement and development. Jihad Daneshgahi Mashhad Press, Mashhad, Iran. (In Persian).
Jankju, M., Delavari, A. and Ganjali, A., 2008. Inter seeding Bromus kopetdaghensis, in shrub lands. Rangeland, Jour. Iranian Society of Range Management, 2(4): 314-328. (In Persian).
Joshi, M., Singh, S. P. and Rawat, Y. S., 1992. Plant forms and seasonality of leaves in herb layers of sites with varying levels of deforestation. Jour. Tropical Forest Science, 6(4): 508–522.
Kenny, A. J. and Krebs. C. J., 2001. Ecological methodology program package, version 6.0, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Laycock, W. A., 1991. Stable states and thresholds of range condition on North American rangelands: a viewpoint. Jour. Range Management, 44:427–433.
Lavorel, S., Rochette, C. and Lebreton, J. D., 1999. Functional groups for response to disturbance in Mediterranean old fields. Oikos, 84: 480–498.
Lee, K., 2002. Secondary succession in abandoned fields after shifting cultivation in Kangwon-Do, Korea.In: Lee, D., Jin, V. (Eds.), Ecology of Korea. Bumwoo Publishing Company, Seoul.
Mackey, R. L. and Currie, D. J., 2001. The diversity disturbance relationship: is it generally strong and peaked. Ecology, 82: 3479–3492.
McAleece, N., 1997. Biodiversity professional beta. The natural history museum and the Scottish association for marine science.
McGrady-Steed, J., Harris, P. M. and Morin, P. J., 1997. Biodiversity regulates ecosystem predictability. Nature, 390:162–165.
Mesdaghi, M., 2002. Rangeland Management in Iran. Imam Reza University Press, Mashhad, Iran. (In Persian).
Mitja, D., Miranda, I. S., Velsquez, E. and Lavelle, P., 2008. Plant species richness and floristic composition change along a rice-pasture sequence in subsistence farms of Brazilian Amazon, influence on the fallow biodiversity (Benfica, State of Para). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environments, 124: 72-84.
Mobayen, S., 1985. Flora of Iran, vascular plant vol. 4. Tehran University Press, Tehran, Iran. (In Persian).
Moghaddam, M. R., 1998. Range and Range Management. University of Tehran press, Tehran, I.R. Iran. (In Persian).
Rechinger, K. H., 1963-2010. Flora Iranica. 1-173. Akademisch Druck-UV erlagsanstalt, Graz.
Sher, Z. and Khan, Z. D., 2007.Floristic composition, life form and leaf spectra of the vegetation of Chagharzai valley, District Buner. Pakistan Jour. Plant Science, 13(1): 57-66.
Van der Maarel, E., 1988. Species diversity in plant communities in relation to structure and dynamics, pp. 1-14, in During, H.J., Werger, M.J.A. & Willems, J.H., eds., Diversity and pattern in plant communities. SPB Academic Press, Hague, Netherlands.
Wilson, S. D., Tilman, D., 2002. Quadratic variation in old field species richness along gradients of disturbance and nitrogen. Ecology, 83: 492–504.
Whittaker, R. H. and Levin, S. A., 1977.The role of the mosaic phenomena in natural communities. Theoretical Population Biology, 12: 117–139.
Yuguang, B., Abouguendia, Z. and Redmann, R. E., 2001.Relationship between plant species diversity and grassland condition. Jour. Range Management, 54: 177–183.
