Forest types studying using ecological indices (Case study: Maroon side of Behbahan)

Subject Areas : Ecosystems

Elahe  Hekmatzadeh ¹ (Graduate of Sciences of forestry department, Faculty of natural resources, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology.)
Reza  Basiri ² (Associate professor of forestry department, Faculty of natural resources, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology. * (Corresponding Author))
Shahram  Yousefi ³ (Assistant professor of range and watershed management department, of natural resources, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology.)
Maleehe  Mozayyan ⁴ (Assistant professor of range and watershed management department, of natural resources, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology.)

Received: 2023-12-04 Accepted : 2024-01-17 Published : 2024-04-20

Keywords: Forest type, River forests, Importance value index, Similarity index, Maturity index.,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: Sustainable management of renewable natural resources has special importance and sensitivity in Iran. Identify elements of the forest including forest types, is the most consistent way to manage natural resources and especially forests. River forests are important areas for preserving biodiversity and ensuring the sustainability of the forest ecosystem. On this principle, it is necessary to know and understand the state of the structure of these forests and the types of trees in them and to know the evolutionary process of forest ecosystems before any planning. The aim of this study is forests typing of Maroon riverbank. Material and Methodology: 116 plots were chosen with an area of 100 using a systematic random sampling method with dimensions of grid for the study area. In each plot, tree and shrub species, canopy cover in the area of plot were estimated and recorded according to Braun-Blanquet scale corrected. Various parameters such as frequency, abundance and density were calculated. Through the sum of the above three relative parameters, the IVI index was obtained for each species. In order to compare the degree of similarity between types, Sorenson's similarity index was used. Relative abundance values for each species in pure and mixed types were set on a 10-unit scale and divided into four specific groups. After determining the tree types of the area, their map was drawn through IDW interpolation method in GIS10.1 software. Findings: In pure type, Tamarix ramosissima and Populus euphratica, with the highest and lowest frequency (6.7 and 3.3) are indicated as high and low respectively. In general, three types were found including pure, mixed with two and three species. The most amount of Sorenson similarity index was determined between two types of Tamarix-Populus and Tamarix-Lycium (93%) and also Populus-Tamarix and Populus-Lycium (92%). The lowest similarity index value of 12% to 15% was observed between the Populus-Lysium-Tamarix type with pure Tamarix, Tamarix-Lysium, Tamarix-Populus and Populus-Tamarix types. Minimum and maximum maturity index was obtained for pure types (50%) and mixed types (79%), respectively. Pure types have low maturity and mixed types have high maturity. The maturity index for the entire region was 72%, which indicates high maturity. Discussion and Conclusion: The tree cover of the river forests of Maroon Behbahan were classified into pure and mixed types on a general scale. The number of two pure types of Tamarix and Populus and seven mixed types including four cases of two types and three cases of three types were obtained. Three species (Tamarix arceuthoides, Populus euphratica and Lycium Shawii) are generally important in the creation of regional types. Among the pure and mixed types, Tamarix was recognized as the most abundant species. The great similarity between pure Tamarix, Tamarix-Lycium and Tamarix-Populus types is due to the common and dominant presence of Tamarix in these types. A variety of different types in a limited area represents complex river ecosystems.

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