Fire as an ecological factor has both positive and negative effects on components of the ecosystem. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of fire on composition, diversity, and functional groups changes in the Tangesorkh rangeland of Boyer-Ahmad County, Iran. The fire took place in the summer of 2015. Two years after the fire, the characteristics of vegetation were measured in the 1 m2 plots. The results showed that 17 species were exclusively found in the fire region, 14 species exclusively in the control region, and 37 species were shared between the two regions. The results of means comparison showed that among the study species, 21 species had a significant response to the fire in terms of canopy cover percent. Fire in the area increased the Simpson and Shannon diversity index and Margalef richness index. The fire caused the canopy cover percent of annuals, perennials, grasses, forbs, Throphytes, Cryptophytes, Hemicryptophytes, Chamaephytes, Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae and Poaceae increased significantly as compared to control. The redundancy analysis (RDA) results showed that the species had different responses to fire so that the canopy cover of Bromus danthoniae, Vicia villosa, Bromus tomentellus, Astragalus hispanicus, Ziziphora tenuior, Bunium rectangulum, Ferulago angulate and Gundelia tournefortii were increased in the regions where fire occurred. According to the results of this research, functional groups have important roles in determining the responses of plant species to the environmental disturbances; hence, they can affect the secondary succession after the wildfire in rangelands. Manuscript profile

Choosing the suitable species, sowing method and sowing season are three important factors for the success of rangeland restoration. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of sowing season and sowing methods on vegetative growth and establishment of Astragalus lilacinus in rangelands of Ardabil province during 2014-2015. Seeds of Astragalus lilacinus collected from its natural habitats and after its viability testing, it sown in a split-plot design based on randomized complete block with three replications. Factor A was sowing season at two levels (autumn and spring) and Factor B, was sowing method at two level (Scatter seeding and row seeding). The seeds were sown under dryland farming conditions. Data collected for establishment rate, canopy cover, plant height, and the flowering stems number over two years. The data were analyzed of variance and the mean comparison was performed using Duncan's method. The results showed that the seedling establishment rate was 28.5% under rainfed conditions. The higher establishment percentage with an average value of 33.6% obtained in the scatter seeding that was significantly higher than row seeding (23.6%). The sowing season by sowing method interaction effect was significant for canopy cover (P<0.05) and the higher value of canopy cover (2398cm2) was obtained in autumn season using scatter seeding method. Manuscript profile

تغییرات مداوم را باید جز جدایی‌ناپذیر هر اکوسیستم دانست. مراتع نیز به‌عنوان اکوسیستم‌های طبیعی از این موضوع مستثنا نیستند. به‌طوری ‌که پایش مرتع به مفهوم بررسی مستمر این اراضی با توجه به اهمیت اکولوژیک، کارکردهای اقتصادی و تغییرات دائمی این منابع، امری ضروریست. بر این اساس پایش مراتع خلیل بیگ شهرستان ارسنجان به مدت 2 سال (1399 و 1400) انجام شد. شاخص‌های گیاهی مورد ارزیابی شامل درصد تاج پوشش گونه‌های گیاهی، میزان تولید گونه‌های گیاهی، درصد لاشبرگ، سنگ و سنگریزه، خاک عاری از پوشش، وضعیت و گرایش مرتع بودند. نتایج نشان داد میزان درصد تاج پوشش گیاهی از 98/10 درصد در سال 1400 تا 5/15 درصد در سال 1399 و میزان تولید از 208/350 تا 306/566 کیلوگرم ماده خشک در هکتار متغیر بود. وضعیت مرتع در حالت ضعیف در دو سال مورد بررسی قرار داشته و گرایش آن منفی بود. براساس نتایج مقایسات انجام شده با استفاده از آزمون t مستقل، اکثر شاخص‌های تاج پوشش گیاهان (فرم‌های رویشی و کلاس‌های خوشخوراکی مختلف) و شاخص‌های تولید (فرم‌های رویشی و کلاس‌های خوشخوراکی مختلف) بین دو سال دوره بررسی (سال 1399 نماینده یک سال مرطوب و سال 1400 نماینده یک سال خشک) تفاوت معنی‌داری در سطح 1 و 5 درصد داشتند. نتایج آزمون همبستگی پیرسون نیز نشان داد که میزان بارش پاییز و زمستان، میزان بارش سالانه ، متوسط دمای کمینه و متوسط دمای سالانه بیشترین همبستگی را در میزان تاج پوشش و تولید کل گیاهان منطقه بر عهده داشته‌اند. Manuscript profile