Measuring litter weight in shrub steppe and its relationship with canopy cover; litter cover; biomass

A study was conducted to examine the relationship between litter weight and vegetation parameters including canopy and litter cover and biomass in steppe vegetation of Khabr National Park. According to the sample size equation, 90 plots of 1-m2 randomly were placed within study area. In each plot, the percentages of canopy and litter cover are estimated and the weight of litter is measured. The results indicate that the mean litter weight is 83.53gr/m2. For calculating standing biomass, double sampling method is used. According to this method, standing crops is harvested to the ground level in 35 quadrats of 90 plots. Air dry collected plant materials are weighted. By using regression equation, the amounts of biomass in other 55 quaderats are estimated. Correlation matrices and stepwise regression model were used to show the relationships. Finally, just canopy cover was remained in model which had linear relationship with litter weight and the correlation coefficient was 0.95. Therefore, canopy cover is an appropriate parameter to estimate litter weight in arid and semi arid shrublands.