Modeling the Canopy Cover and Aboveground Net Primary Production of Plant Life forms in Rangelands of Ardabil Province

The main purpose of this study was to mapping the canopy cover (CC) and the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) of plant life forms by the independent factor of physiographic in the rangelands of Ardabil province.Material &

First, according to plant types and environmental factors, sampling was taken at the peak stage of plant growth from 2016 to 2020 using one square meter plots. To determine the most effective environmental factor in the changes of plant parameters, the correlation between dependent and independent variables was used. Linear regression equation was used for modeling by the most effective factor and the maps were simulated. The accuracy of the equations was also calculated by RMSE. Then, the correlation between CC and ANPP of life forms and the total was obtained.

The results showed that the elevation factor had the highest correlation with the dependent variables. The difference between the estimated average of the model with the measured values for CC of grasses equal to +1%, forbs –1%, shrubs -1%, and total CC +2%; and these values for the ANPP of grasses equal to +21 kg/ha, forbs was equal to zero, shrubs were -13 and the total ANPP was +274 kg/ha.

Predicting the studied parameters will be necessary to manage the balance between supply and demand of rangeland products.