Reza Omidipour; Ataollah Ebrahimi; Pejman Tahmasebi; Marzban Faramarzi
Abstract
Vegetation canopy cover (VCC) and Above-Ground Phytomass (AGP) are the most important indicators of rangeland ecosystem’s structure and function, therefore their accurate evaluation and monitoring is vital for ecosystem welfare. Vegetation indices, are essential tools for assessing and monitoring ...
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Vegetation canopy cover (VCC) and Above-Ground Phytomass (AGP) are the most important indicators of rangeland ecosystem’s structure and function, therefore their accurate evaluation and monitoring is vital for ecosystem welfare. Vegetation indices, are essential tools for assessing and monitoring VCC and AGP which have not been addressed under different managerial conditions, so far. In the present study, the effect of long-term grazing and enclosure (26-year) on the relationship between the VCC and AGP with vegetation indices were evaluated in the Sabzkouh protected area of ChaharmahalVaBkhtiari province using Landsat-8 images. VCC and AGP were evaluated in both grazed and enclosed area by 10 plots of 30*30-m in each of which three quadrates of 2×2 square meters were applied (totally 60 quadrates) in the June, 2016. The results indicate significant differences between grazed and enclosed areas in terms of VCC (57% and 46 respectively) and AGP (with 1656 and 1011 kg per hectare, respectively). The soil adjusted vegetation indices show a more significant prediction of VCC in enclosed and grazed areas (TSAVI1=0.828 and PVI3=0.884, respectively). The PVI2 index showed appropriate results for estimating AGP in both enclosed (R2=0.726) and grazed (R2=0.698) areas. The improved performance of these indies is mainly due to the adjustment of soil effects. Our results suggest that grazing caused a significant effect on the relationship between VCC and AGP with vegetation indices due to feasible changes in vegetation structure or composition. Therefore, using different indices is necessary to study and monitor different rangelands under management strategies.
Yadollah Bostan; ahmad fatahi ardakani; majid sadeghinia; Masoud Fehresti sani
Abstract
Attention to rangeland ecosystems is important because rangeland ecosystems have significant impacts on human agriculture and food security and also have various functions that would not be possible for humans to live without. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to estimate the conservation ...
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Attention to rangeland ecosystems is important because rangeland ecosystems have significant impacts on human agriculture and food security and also have various functions that would not be possible for humans to live without. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to estimate the conservation value and investigate the contribution and ranking of selected Sheikh Moussa rangeland ecosystem services through people's preferences in the form of Choice Modeling (CE). For the next study, the most important Sheikh Moussa rangeland services, including biodiversity, medicinal plants, ecotourism and artefacts, have been identified through field survey and ecosystem services separation. In order to investigate the preferences of the individuals, 170 questionnaires were distributed among the population of the Eastern Bandipur district in the 2017. The results of the present study showed that individuals' annual Willingness To Pay (WTP) to improve the status of the desired ecosystem services amounted to 66692.29 Rials ($ 2.55) and the total value of services rendered was 2667 million Rials ($ 8219.09). The results show that the variables of income, being the head of household and visiting the area are the most important factors affecting the willingness to pay. Based on the values obtained, the priority of the people of the region is to focus more on biodiversity services. Also, the value obtained by the selection test method was able to provide the contribution of each function according to Lancaster's theory. Consequently, ..