Positive and negative aspects of rangeland planting of native and non-native species of Atriplex

The present situation of forage deficiency during the severe periods of drought affecting rangeland areas suggests that a rational strategy should be considered in order to provide part of livestock forage through low-common and low-water and salinity and drought- resistant forage species. In this regard, the cultivation of forage plants in saline lands using non-native Atriplex species has been considered as a beneficial forage production system for several years ago. Regarding the success of the aforementioned practices, misleading statistics have been presented and there have always been different ideas about continuing or stopping planting of Atriplex. Therefore, in the present study, different climatic and ecological aspects of planting native and non-native species of Atriplex have been studied. Referring to the positive and negative aspects of planting the non-native-Atriplex species over the past few decades, the need to pay attention to native species of Atriplex to provide forage becomes more apparent. The most important advantage of native species is its natural and easy regeneration in natural areas, which is very important for economic and ecological reasons, given the high cost of planting. In this regard, Atriplex verrucifera is a native species distributed over a wide range of saline habitats along the margin of the Urmia Lake, and forms a very suitable pasture for domestic animals and forage grazing. The amount of its production in the severe drought conditions of the past decade was estimated to be 220-250 kg dry matter per hectare, reaching by more than 500 kg of dry forage per hectare by increasing the level of water level.