Astragalus fridae Rech. F. is a native and endemic species in Iran. Considering the circumstances of this species in the country and the world and the importance of conservation of genetic resources, the awareness of A. fridae forage quality seems necessary. For this purpose, forage samples of A. fridae were taken at four phenological stages including vegetative growth, flowering, seed setting and maturity over three years (2012- 2014) in Semnan province, Iran. Forage quality factors such as DMD, CP, WSC, ADF, Ash, CF, NDF and ME were measured by NIR. Their overall means over phenological stages were 67.38%, 7.58%, 17.43%, 27.79%, 5.89%, 39.87%, 47.47% and 9.46mj/kg, respectively. Result of analysis of variance showed significant differences (P پرونده مقاله

Improving water use efficiency and soil properties are two major factors for sustainable development in desert areas. Therefore, this research aims to study the effectiveness of a biological hydrogel, plant vegetation layer, sand and barley straw with rain harvesting techniques through micro-catchment operation on some soil properties including pH, Nitrogen, Electrical conductivity, Sodium Absorption Ratio, Phosphorous, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Organic Matter and Soil moisture under cultivation of Nitraria schoberi. using a split plot design with micro-catchment at two levels as main factor and mulch treatment in five levels as sub factor using a completely randomized block in three replications for 2 years (2015 to 2016) in Natural Resources Research Station, Semnan, Iran. Data analysis was carried out using software SAS 9.1. The results of the analysis of variance showed that main effect of Micro-catchment was significant only for organic matter (P<0.01). The main effect of mulch treatments was significant for all of traits (P<0.01) except soil Ca and OM. Also, all four mulch treatments held significantly more moisture as compared to the control. The mulch by environment interaction effect was significant for EC, N, and Mg2+ (P<0.05) and Na+ and Ca2+ (P<0.01). Thus, considering the effects of present mulch on soil factors types and soil moisture, and considering the price, availability and conditions of the area, they can be used to restore these areas biologically. Considering the abundance of sand mineral matters and straw in the country and cost of each material, the use of sand and straw in comparison with the Plantbac and bio-hydrogel will be more economical. If the purpose is to produce herbal essences or certain enzymes from the plant due to high value of sales of these materials, Plantbac and bio-hydrogel may be applied as an amendment. پرونده مقاله

Degradation of plant patches is considered as one of the indices for rangeland degrading health condition. Investigating the accuracy of triple indices (infiltration, stability and soil nutrient cycle) presented by LFA method seems necessary to determine its efficiency in semi-arid areas with the least cost. This study aims to investigate the role of vegetative species and growing forms on soil surface characteristics in Dehbar semi-steppe rangelands, Iran in 2014. So, eleven soil surface characteristics in different vegetative types each of 3 replicates were measured using landscape functional analysis (LFA). Then, the measured parameters were classified based on their sustainability, permeability and food chain continuum for each plant species. According to the results obtained from various analytical investigations, the ecological patches consisting of Artemisia aucheri (46.83%) and complex of Artemisia aucheri and Agropyron intermedium (with the amount of 41.7%) were higher than other forms of vegetative growth for soil sustainability. The complex of Acantholimon sp., Artemisia aucheri and Astragalus commixtus had the lowest amount in terms of soil sustainability (38%). The comparison of soil permeability indices for different types of plant covers showed that the percentage of Artemisia aucheri (32.06%) and complex of Artemisia aucheri and Agropyron intermedium (33.5%) had the highest amount while all other patches were equal and had the lowest amount. In terms of food chain, the ecological patches such as Artemisia aucheri (25.63%) and complex of Artemisia aucheri and Agropyron intermedium (27.66%) had the highest amount. The complex of Artemisia aucheri and Astragalus commixtus (16.36%), the complex of Acantholimon sp., Artemisia aucheri and Astragalus commixtus (13.63%) and the complex of Acantholimon sp. and Agropyron intermedium (15.36%) had the lowest values (p≤0.01). Therefore, Artemisia aucheri (shrub) and a complex of Artemisia aucheri and Agropyron intermedium (grass) patches, introduced as ecological indicators for the study area, are suggested for rangelands restoration. پرونده مقاله

In order to study the effects of drought stress and mycorrhiza fungi on establishment rate and some growth-morphological traits ofZiziphora clinopodoides, pot experiments were conducted as factorial design based on a completely randomized design at the research greenhouse of agricultural faculty, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2014; pots were combined as four levels of drought stress including 100 (Control), 75, 50 and 25% of Field Capacity (FC) and three levels of mycorrhiza fungi including Glomus intraradices, Glomus versiforme and control. The results showed that drought stress of 25%FC decreased plants weight (0.75, 0.67 and 0.19g/pot), plant height (1.25, 1.18 and 0.7cm), establishment rate (67.50%, 57% and 14.25%) and plants root colonization by mycorrhiza fungi (50%, 35.5% and 0) by the application of G. intraradices, G. versiforme and control, respectively indicating significant effects of both Mycorrhiza species on drought resistance. Result indicated that the establishment rate was decreased significantly to 85%, 64% and 36% using G. intraradices, and G. versiforme and control at 50%FC, respectively. Similarly, the establishment rate was reduced in the inoculated plants with mycorrhiza treatments less than control (67.50%, 57% and 14.25% at 25%FC) so that symbiosis of Mycorrhiza fungi significantly improved Z. clinopodoides establishment rate under drought stress against the control. The effect of G. intraradices and G. versiforme on plants establishment rate (93% against 78.50% at 75%FC), plants height (5.93cm against 5.30cm at 75%FC) and dry weights (1.07g against 0.95g at 50%FC) was higher through drought stress. The Glomus intraradices reacted better to mild drought than G. versiforme and increased the establishment and morphological traits of plant. According to results, G. intraradices could be introduced as a biological fertilizer and a technique for retrofitting and increasing tolerance of Z. clinopodoides against drought stress. پرونده مقاله