Evaluation of ecological characteristics of the habitat and determination of some quantitative characteristics and amount of minerals in the medicinal plant Hymenocarter longiflorus Benth in rangeland of South Khorasan province

Subject Areas : rangland

seyedeh mahbubeh mirmiran ¹ , Reza Yari ² , Majid Dashti ³ , Abbasali Nazeran ⁴

1 - 1. Assistant Professor, Khorasan-e-razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Mashhad, Iran
2 - 1. Assistant Professor, Khorasan-e-razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Mashhad, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor, Khorasan-e-razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Mashhad, Iran
4 - Master of Medicinal Plants, Ferdows Azad University

Received: 2022-02-04 Accepted : 2022-04-16 Published : 2022-06-21

Keywords: soil, minerals, Morphological characteristics.Climatic factors,

Abstract :

Medicinal plants in the field of natural resources are considered as one of the most important strategies in the field of health, trade and technology. Scientific and comprehensive knowledge of the elements and components of rangeland ecosystems is essential for their proper planning and management. For this purpose, the ecological characteristics of the habitat, morphological characteristics and the amount of some minerals of H. longiflorus Benth medicinal plant in the rangeland ecosystems of South Khorasan in two habitats of Amroodkan Ferdows Valley and Sabz Sarayan Valley were studied. Thus, 3 transects were established in the representative area of each habitat and 10 plots of 3 square meters were installed along each transect. In each plot, cover parameters including density, percentage of canopy cover of plant species, percentage of H. longiflorus Benth species, large and small diameter, medium height and some mineral compounds in plant aerial parts were measured. Also, climatic and topographic characteristics of each habitat and physical and chemical factors of the soil were measured. The results showed that the direction of both habitats was north and Amrudkan valley had higher altitude and average annual rainfall compared to Sabzerood. The soil of both regions was in the acidic range and the soil texture in the habitat of Amrudkan valley was loam and in Sabzrood habitat was sandy-loamy. Percentage of total species, percentage of Aroneh species, average height and wet and dry weight of flowering branches of the species due to more suitable ecological conditions and the presence of more fertile soil in the habitat of Amrudkan valley 17, 43, 12, 43 and 62% more, respectively. The habitat of Sabzrood was Sarayan. Also, there was a significant difference between the minerals in the medicinal organ of H. longiflorus Benth in the two habitats and the minerals in the flowering branches of this species were higher in the Emroodkan valley habitat than Sabzrood habitat. In general, the results show the influence of morphological and phytochemical characteristics of this species. Due to its medicinal value, having minerals and also high resistance of this plant to different environmental conditions, its use in urban green space belt is recommended.