فهرست مطالب fahimeh saberi

In the last 30 years, many forests have been destroyed in the Zagros region of Iran. Afforestation is necessary to reduce the pressure on the natural forests. Forest plantation and protection should be at the center of conservation efforts, significantly since plantations can offset the negative impact of climate change and be effective in absorbing atmospheric pollutants and helping to improve air quality. This research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the success of afforestation with the mountain almond (Amygdalus scoparia Spach.) in Arjan (Amygdalus elaeagnifolia Spach.) habitats of Jamal Beyg, Fars province and its effect on the understory vegetation, especially herbal species and soil. Comparing Arjan with mountain almond can provide additional information, to know the conditions of the native species in the region and the planted species, and it is a kind of comparative mode. In fact, evaluating the success and quantifying the ecological effects of the afforestation carried out by the executive organizations, which has been done at great expense, can guide managers for better decision-making. As no study has been done in this area yet, this research is the first one that quantifies the results of almond plantations in the Jamal Beyg region.

In order to check the percentage of survival and according to the budget and facilities, since the plantation rows were very long, three rows of planted shrubs in the Jamal Beyg region of Euclid in Fars province were randomly selected and the number of empty planting holes was counted. There are naturally but rarely shrubs such as Arjan (Amygdalus elaeagnifolia Spach.). In order to evaluate the existing vegetation, after initial sampling and based on the adequacy of the sample, 30 circular sample plots of 1000 square meters were taken in the form of a random-regular grid with dimensions of 100×100 meters. In the sample plots, the density of shrubs, their crow width, and survival, as well as the frequency of regeneration were measured. In order to check the number of species present in the plantation and control areas, at the end of May and the beginning of June 2021, all the plant species in the sample plots were identified or after they were collected and transferred to the herbarium, with the help of photos taken in the field, were identified. The life form and biological form of plant species were determined using the Raunkiaer system. Some physical and chemical characteristics of the soil such as texture, percentage of organic matter, phosphorus, EC, and pH amount were also measured and compared with the control area in the vicinity of the range which has similar topographical characteristics without afforestation operation. Due to the non-normality of the data distribution and the failure of various transformations, the Mann-Whitney test was used to compare two species of Arjan and mountain almond in terms of density, regeneration frequency, and crown area.

The survival rate of the plantation was 95 %, and the plantation area had a density of 342 trees per hectare, which created a canopy cover of five percent. The regeneration density of mountain almond and Arjan species was estimated to be 90 individuals and 4.5 individuals per ha, respectively. Afforestation with the mountain almond species in this area has increased the number of herbaceous species in such a way that there were 18 plant species belonging to 13 families in the afforestation area while 12 plant species belonging to eight families in the control area (without plantation area). In terms of canopy area, there was no significant difference between the two species of mountain almond and Arjan. In terms of regeneration density, there was a significant difference between the mountain almond and Arjan, and the regeneration density of the mountain almond was significantly higher than Arjan. The amount of organic matter (1.62), nitrogen (3.89), and phosphorus (11.02) of the soil in the afforestation area was higher than control area, and the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C/N) in the afforestation area (0.46) was lower than control area.

The results of this research indicate the significant success of mountain almond afforestation in the Jamal Beyg region, Fars province. Afforestation in this area has increased organic matter and also the number of herbal species. The existence of a significant natural regeneration of the mountain almond indicates that the stand is on the true way of its succession. In order to control the grass cover and prevent fires, it is better to do light grazing in the spring season in the stands. Also, if there is a history of the presence of Pistacia atlantica in the area, planting its seeds or seedlings under the shelter of existing shrubs will help the stability of the stand. It is suggested that sufficient research be carried out to determine the appropriate method for determining the age of shrubs in such a way that natural regeneration can be separated from planted shrubs. The main goal of initializing a seed garden is to produce the modified seeds of the desired forest species in abundance, cheap, continuous, and easily accessible, far from the reach of unwanted pollen and with better genetic quality and quantity. To select suitable genotypes of a species in terms of traits such as resistance to drought stress, the genomic selection method can be used. Jamal Beyg aforestation is a valuable seed garden for future plantation. Considering the significant survival of mountain almonds and the possibility of natural reproduction, it is suggested to use this nurse species in the restoration of similar fields in the study area. Considering the effect of mountain almond afforestation in improving the soil properties of the region, it is suggested to give more importance to bioengineering operations and stabilization of slopes with this shrub in the Fars Province watersheds. As this afforestation has supported herbal species richness, it is suggested that the results of afforestation be explained to rural communities so that they are encouraged to preserve and protect forest plantations.

The osteological characteristics of fish, especially the head structure, are important in understanding the biological characteristics. Periophthalmus waltoni and Boleophthalmus dussumieri are among the mudskippers and are distributed along the coasts of the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf.

After catching and fixing the samples in 96% ethanol, the samples were then sent to the preclinical laboratory (Lotus-InVivo) for micro-CT scanning (TPCF, in Tehran university of medical sciences) for imaging.

In B. dussumieri, the skull is rudimentary and a high percentage of the bones is still cartilaginous. In this species, despite the larger head size, the braincase is small. In P. waltoni, the braincase is larger, but the skull tissue is completely bony and has very little cartilaginous. The jaws have also undergone drastic changes, corresponding to the change from a nearly fixed biting mouth to a flexible sucking mouth. In both species, the teeth are sharp and in two parts in the jaws. In P. waltoni, there are three pairs of sharp teeth for hunting in the upper jaw, the number of these teeth in B. dussumieri is four passes and it is less curved.

In this report, for the first time, the skull structure of the Persian Gulf was investigated. Micro CT technique has also been used for the first time. Mudskippers have developed special adaptations to live in mud in terrestrial and aquatic conditions. These adaptations are greater in P. waltoni, which shows greater degrees of terrestrialization, and requires detailed studies in this field.

The internal origin of reproduction is controlled by biological clocks. In different conditions, there may be a daily, monthly or annual cycle and it depends on the geographical characteristics of the place where the fish lives. Thus, in the present study, the reproductive indices under the influence of species and season in Periophthalmus waltoni and Boleophthalmus dussumieri, which live in Ghanam estuary, Khuzestan province, were investigated. Sampling was performed in two seasons of spring and autumn 1401-1400. A total of 53 fish of both species were caught live by hand and transferred to the laboratory in spring and autumn. After explaining the samples and extracting the sexual gonads, the reproductive characteristics were examined. In this study, the prevalence of P. waltoni in both autumn and spring was higher than the other species. In addition, in both seasons, for both samples, the male gender was dominant and accounted for the highest frequency. For B. dussumieri, although the male population was more abundant in spring, their gonadal index was higher in autumn and the males of this species were more active in reproduction in spring than in spring. However, for both species in the female, sexual maturation peaks in the spring. It can be concluded that due to climate change and the major role of ecological conditions, while increasing temperature and humidity in hot to cold seasons, biological and food activities have increased and the amount of weight has a direct relationship with reproductive capacity.

The water frog (P. bedriagae) is considered as an important part of the food network balance in most ecosystems, it is affected by many environmental stresses and the distribution of its populations is strongly dependent on ecological factors. In this study, extensive sampling of swamp frog populations in the northern and southern parts of Khuzestan province was performed and the analysis of changes in morphological traits under the influence of geographical separation was performed. The results showed the presence of sexual morphology between morphological traits (T-test, ANOVA). In addition, the results of MANOVA and T2 Hotelling test showed demographic separation between males and the absence of demographic separation in females in the northern and southern regions. To prove such a difference, multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) was performed. According to the results of the test, the male populations were divided into two separate groups, while in the female populations only a few were scattered and the rest formed a single group. Finally, the cluster analysis of the studied populations was divided into two groups based on morphometric traits, the population of Shush region and the population of the southern regions and parts of the northern regions. According to the results, despite the two morphologies and demographic separation in males based on morphological traits, demographic separation was not fully confirmed. Thus, despite the geographical separation of the populations of the two northern and southern regions of Khuzestan province, they still show a single population in terms of morphological traits.

The Marsh frog, Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas) is distributed in Central Europe from northeastern France, north to the southern shorelines of the Baltic Sea (and extreme southern Finland), south to northeastern Spain, northern Italy and the Balkans including eastern Greece, east to approximately 81° E in Asiatic Russia, and south to western Iran and Afghanistan. The present study has been conducted on populations of P. ridibundus in the northern, eastern and southern regions of the Shadegan Wetland of Khuzestan Province, Iran with the aim of examining some aspects of its morphology and karyotype. Frog specimens were collected from different portions of the Shadegan Wetland during spring and autumn 2016 and transferred to the laboratory. According to the morphological results, three color patterns are identified among the samples in terms of the morphology, morphometry and sex - according to the sex independency test. T-test results between males and females indicate a significant difference in all traits and the results of a T2 Hotelling test show that there is sexual dimorphism between males and females. However, the results of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) illustrate a separation between males of the northern region and the two other regions, and no differentiation between females in the eastern and southern regions of the wetland. The karyotype of the species in the wetland included 2n= 26, one pair of which had a sex chromosome.

Skeletocronology is a reliable method for estimating the age but in amphibians little researches have been done in this field. In the present study, for the first time in the country of Iran, the age structure of the population, growth pattern and reproductive primary age were studied in the populations of marsh frog in the northern and southern regions of Khuzestan province. For this purpose, 20 female and male marsh frog samples were fished alive in the Khuzestan province and transferred to the laboratory. After biometric studies, the specimens were prepared and after the removal of the bones of the limbs, bone samples were passaged as routine histotechnique. The number of growth stop lines and samples age were determined. In order to determine the relationship between age and body weight, body length and age with eye lens weight, the data was analyzed statistically. the maximum number of loops counted in this population is . The adult age of males of northern and southern, males of the northern and males of the southern regions was determined 2,2 and 3 years respectively. with increasing age of females, the co-integration rate of females was reduced which is explainable by the reduction in bioavailability due to the increase in biological age. According to the results, there was a significant correlation between age of animals with body and  eye lens weight, but there was no significant correlation between age of  animals with body length, except a limited number of males in northern regions (P<0.05) There was.