Vegetation changes in abandoned rangelands and adjacent rangelands (Case study: Rangelands of Sanandaj city)

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of land use change on the composition and surface cover of rangelands and drylands that have been abandoned for thirty years in three areas of Kilk, Salavatabad, Saraboqamish, Sanandaj. In each of the uses of rangeland and dryland, 3 transects 100-meter were established and 10 plots of one square meter were selected on each transect, which a total of 90 plots in rangeland and 90 plots in dryland were harvested. Statistical analysis and comparisons were performed by one-way analysis of variance. The results showed that the canopy cover and bare soil in the rangeland increased by 8% and 9%, respectively, compared to the dryland. There was no significant difference between the results of plant production between the two uses. Comparison of species composition showed that in abandoned dryland, annuals and class III plants increased by 20 and 13%, respectively, in rangeland of class I and II plants increased by 15 and 4%, respectively, and in dryland shrubs and perennials decreased by 7% and 26%, respectively. The result is that the secondary sequence in the 30-year-old abandoned lands, although it has changed the characteristics of vegetation, is still far from rangeland cover