ISSN: 2476-6909; ECOPERSIA. 2021;9(2):95-104. Effects of Ecological Factors on the Distribution of Artemisia melanolepis and Artemisia aucheri in Southeast of Sabalan, Iran A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Aim This study aimed to assess the relationship between environmental variables Article Type (physiographic and soil) and distribution of Artemisia melanolepis and A. aucheri Original Research in the northwest of Iran. to find the Authors Materialsmost effective & Methodsfactors on 4the sites distribution with the of distribution these species of southeast the genus faced Artemisia slopes of(site Sabalan with Mt.,the Molaei M.1 MSc, presence of Artemisia species) and four sites with the absence of 2 Artemisia species were Ghorbani A.*1 PhD Artemisia species and land selected. In each site, five transects with a length of 100m (50 one square meter plots) with soil)random- were systematically recorded in each method plot. was Seventy-two established, soil and samples the density were collected of from 0-15cm depth. Samplingcover parameters was conducted (including from percent May to Julyof litter, 2015 stone in the and pick gravel, growing total stage. canopy One-way cover, ANOVA and bare and Canonical Discriminate Analyses (CDA) were used for data analyses. Findings The ANOVA and mean comparison results showed that all selected environmental How to cite this article ogical Factors on the Distribution of variables except total canopy cover and bare soil had significant differences (p<0.01). The ArtemisiaMolaei M, Ghorbanimelanolepis A. Effectsand Artemisia of Ecol- results of CDA showed that two functions justified 76.6 and 23.4 percent, respectively, and aucheri 100% of the data variance. Finally, 97.3% of the Artemisiagrouped cases species. were Some classified parameters correctly. such The as in Southeast of Sabalan, Iran. elevation, potassium, slope, aspect, stone, and gravel were primarily the most effective factors ECOPERSIA. 2021;9(2):95-104. in the first function in the discrimination of the sitessand, and silt, distributionelectrical conductivity, of Artemisia total species. neutralizing value, water-dispersible clay, organic matter, ConclusionpH, total canopy Although cover, physiography litter, and bare and soil soil were variables second affectedeffective thefactors establishment in the discrimination of Artemisia of species and showed significant differences between the three discriminated groups; however, Keywords - the degree of importance of physiographic parameters is more significant than soil factors. Rangeland; Species Distribution Modelling; Species-Environment Relation ship; Ardabil Province C I T A T I O N L I N K S [1] Monitoring rangeland degradation ... [2] Eco-environmental degradation ... [3] Land ecological changes and ... [4] [5] Composition and structure ... [6] Relationships between ... [7] Ecological factors affecting ... [8] Halophyte species ... [9] The Study of flora, life ... 1 impact of environmental ... [10] Range and range ... [11] Determining the factors ... [12] Impact of habitat heterogeneity ... [13] Ecological survey of ... [14] Compare ecological factors Department of Natural Resources, ... [15] Investigation on ecological ... [16] Spatial variation analysis ... [17] Study the effect of University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, ecological ... [18] Study the effective ecological ... [19] Vegetation types and life ... [20] Study Ardabil, Iran *Correspondence the effect of ... [21] Flora Iranica ... [22] [23] Terrestrial plant ... [24] The Address: Natural Resources De- interrelation of certain ... [25] Species constancy depends ... [26] Optimal sample and plot ... - Study the influence ... - [27] Evaluation of land ... [28] Effects of plot size ... [29] Investigation of environmental ... [30] partment, Agriculture & Natu Hydraulic conductivity of ... [31] [32] Physically uncomplexed ral Resources Faculty, Univer organic ... [33] Carbonate and gypsum ... [34] Soluble salts ... [35] Aspect transformation ... sity of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Postal Code: 5619911367. [36] Principle component and Total... [37 carbon,] Fundamental organic carbon of land-use ... ... [38] importance of PhoneUniversity: +98 (45)Street, 33510136 Ardabil, Iran. Fax: +98 (45) 33510140 topography and ... [39] Effects of topographical and ... [40] Spatial heterogeneity of soil ... [41] [email protected] Distribution patterns of tropical ... [42] Sieving duration and sieve loading ... [43] Investigation effect of environmental ... [44] Soil carbon pools in adjacent ... [45] Impacts of organic matter Article History ... [46] Effect of amendments on ... [47] Some ecological conditions ... [48] Vegetation and soil relationships ... [49] Synecology of semi-steppe ... [50] The effect of degraded ... [51] Soil Received: January 23, 2020 fertility of arid and semiarid ... Accepted: March 31, 2020 Copyright©ePublished: October2021, TMU 31, Press.2020 This open-access article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License which permits Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) under the Attribution-NonCommercial terms. Effects of Ecological Factors on the Distribution of … 96 Introduction phosphorus, and potassium. In the study [14] The rangeland ecosystem plays an important reported that ecological factors which affect the role in maintaining a sustainable environment distribution of Artemisia fragrans and A. [1]. Rangeland degradation resulted in decreased austriaca in south-eastern Sabalan were more productivity and economic potential, effected by litter, elevation, rainfall, environmental deterioration, and the decline of temperature, organic matter, bare soil, stone biodiversity and complexity [2]. The increase in and gravels, available potassium, sand, and silt, degradation leads to the weakening or loss of the slope, and aspect. restoration function, such as resilience and self- Sabalan Mountain is important from the socio- regulation of the ecosystem [1-3]. Rangeland economic-ecological perspectives and existence degradation occurs because its ecosystems are of high palatable species, genetic resources, highly vulnerable to over-exploitation and nomadic life, ecotourism, mineral water, and inappropriate land use [4, 5]. One of the spa, geothermal energy [5, 14-16]. Artemisia species consequences of rangeland degradation is the in south-eastern rangelands of Sabalan are loss of plant species diversity [4, 5]. Plant species dominant, which A. aucheri distributed in mid diversity is one of the most important factors for and A. melanolepis in high altitude [9, 14, 17, 18]. A. the sustainability of ecosystems [4, 6]. Plant melanolepis, as the native threatened species, is species’ presence and distribution in rangeland important from the Sabalan rangeland ecosystems are not random, but such factors as biodiversity perspective, and A. aucheri has climate, soil, topography, anthropological, and productivity potential. Both soil conservation, interactions between species play major roles in medicinal, and aromatic potential [14, 17, 18]; thus, their development [7-9]. regarding limited information, understanding Understanding the relationship between the relationship between environmental factors vegetation and environmental factors is one of and species distribution is necessary [6]. the major issues affecting the formation of plant Therefore, the main objective is to understand communities’ structure and their distribution in both selected species’ ecological requirements each area [10]. Determining the factors that for proper management practices. Thus, this control plant species’ presence and distribution study was conducted to identify the effects of is one of the main objectives in the rangelands topographic, climatic, and edaphic ecosystems studies [8, 9, 11]. In the study [12] by characteristics on the distribution of Artemisia conducting the Principal Component Analysis melanolepis and A. aucheri in the Sabalan south (PCA) and Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) eastern rangelands. in China indicated that physical and chemical features of the soil, including humidity, salinity, Materials and Methods and acidity, were effective inhomogeneity of the Study Area: Mount Sabalan (4,811m in plant communities in the regional scale. Another elevation), as the third-highest Mt. in Iran, is study [13] using discriminant analysis showed located in northwest Iran, which is one of the that temperature parameters, altitude, sand, main rangeland ecosystems in Iran [5, 16]. This stone, and gravel percent on the soil surface, study’s main selected habitats (Table 1) are in electrical conductivity, total neutralizing, and the southeast faced slopes of Mt. Sabalan in rainfall in the first canonical function had the Ardabil province (Figure 1). highest value, and they were the first factors Eight habitats were selected with the genus affecting species distribution. However, the Artemisia distribution. A. melanolepis and A. presence and absence of Ferula ovina and F. aucheri are distributed in two habitats, and two persica in the rangelands of Zanjan province habitats close to each Artemisia habitats were were often dependent on some variables such as selected as the absence habitats of A. pH, soil silt percent, aspect, precipitation, and melanolepis A. aucheri. The selected habitats minimum temperature. Another study [7] using have moderate summer and cold winter, and discriminant analysis