Autecology of Lolium perenne L. in Mazandaran province

Autecology is the study on behavior and performance of a plant species and its relationship with other living and non living components of a habitat. These kinds of studies provide basic information for management in rangeland ecosystems. In the current research, autecology of Lolium perenne was studied in Mazandaran province. Geographical distribution, phenology, companion species, dryness index, edaphic and climatic parameters were considered as effective factors on distribution of Lolium perenne. According to the results, the altitude range for the mentioned species was from -22 to 1700 m above sea level. This species is frequently found in different places like road sides, irrigation canals, clay slopes, rocky and sandy hills, and also as a weed in farm fields. Presence percentage in lowlands was also more than that in uplands. Lolium perenne is resistant to cold and harsh conditions and grows mainly in humid to sub humid climates and alpine to Mediterranean and semi-arid habitats. Our results indicated that Lolium perenne prefers clay, clay loam, loamy sand, silty clay loam and silty clay soils. These observations show that Lolium perenne can grow in a wide range of ecological conditions.