Impact of Land Use Changes on Soil and Vegetation Characteristics in Fereydan, Iran

Hanieh Eghdami, Ghanimat Azhdari, Philippe Lebailly and Hossein Azadi
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Hanieh Eghdami: Department of Geobotany, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany
Ghanimat Azhdari: Department of Rehabilitation of Arid and Mountainous Regions, Natural Resources faculty, University of Tehran, Tehran 1417466191, Iran
Philippe Lebailly: Economics and Rural Development, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, B-5030 Liège, Belgium
Hossein Azadi: Economics and Rural Development, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, B-5030 Liège, Belgium

Agriculture, 2019, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-17

Abstract: To understand and manage ecosystem complexity, it is important to determine the relationships between soil characteristics, human activities, and biodiversity. This study analyzes the relationships between vegetation, soil, and man-made damage with regards to land use change in the Fereydan region, Iran. Soil physical properties such as sand and silt content, clay, saturated soil’s moisture content, and gravel percentage as well as chemical properties such as lime content, pH, electro conductivity (EC), and organic matter content were measured. In order to trace these variables, the principle component analysis (PCA) was applied. The study area was divided into three states of conditions; i.e., good condition rangelands, poor condition rangelands, and abandoned rain-fed area. Based on the results there was a significant difference between species diversity in good condition rangelands compared with two other sites. The results further revealed that among soil chemical and physical characteristics, only soil organic matter had a significant difference between different rangeland sites. According to the results, the rangelands with good conditions had the highest amount of organic matter (1.43–1.50%) compared with two other studied rangelands (poor conditions: 1.02–1.09%; abandoned rain-fed: 1.2–1.46%). The most influential factor on the species diversity index was the distance to village parameter that revealed the important role of humans in degrading rangelands and reducing species diversity.

Keywords: plant distribution; natural-human systems; soil attributes; vegetation; management; conservation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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