Effect of fire on quantitative characteristics of vegetation and determination of fire resistant species in wooded rangelands (Case study of Karmak rangeland in Rudbar, Guilan)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Guilan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Agriculture Research, Education and Extension Organization(AREEO), Rasht, Iran

2 Guilan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, Agriculture Research, Education and Extension Organization(AREEO), Rasht, Iran.

Abstract

Fires can be a common cause of disruption and change in many ecosystems, and can affect species composition. Pastures are one of the areas that catch fire every year around the world. The present study intends to study the effect of fire on the vegetation of wooded pastures by recognizing the severity of fire. Kermak rangelands, where one of the largest fires occurred in Guilan in recent years, was selected for this purpose. Random-systematic inventory measurement was performed by selecting 4 transects and 40 sample plots separately in each of the fire and non-fire area. The studied characteristics including production amount, density and canopy in each sampling plot were measured. After analyzing the data, the results showed that the Surface fire was a function of the GR1 fuel model and this fire was light and transient. The results also showed the short-term effect of fire on the studied traits that species such as Trachynia distachya، Arenaria serpyllifoliaand Including are resistant species and species of Ziziphora capitata، Vinca herbacea are fire sensitive species in Karmak rangeland.

Keywords


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