Estimating the production of Artemisia sieberi through the measurement of plant's dimensions (Case study: southwest Sabzevar)

1*-Corresponding Author, Ph.D. Student of Combat Desertification, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran, Email:ghasemiaryan@yahoo.comDetermination of grazing capacity is considered as one of the most fundamental aspects of range management and understanding its effective factors is of utmost importance. Since the amount of forage production in a growth period is the basis for calculation of grazing capacity, in this research the estimation of production through the measurement of plant’s dimensions was investigated. For this purpose, the habitat of Artemisia sieberi was determined and then 8 transects of 50 m length were established with 10 m intervals by random-systematic method. The height and diameter of 40 species of Artemisia sieberi with different dimensions were recorded and the production of each species was clipped and weighted after drying. All data were analyzed by SPSS. Results showed that there was a significant linear correlation between production as a dependent variable and volume, canopy cover and height of Artemisia sieberi as independent variables (R2= 0.88, 0.84, and 0.74, respectively) at 1% probability level. Finally, the relationship between production and volume was identified as the best linear relationship.