Changes in Rangeland Condition and Health of Palandoken Mountain Rangelands Over two Decades

Year 2021, , 37 - 43, 17.12.2021

Ali Koç , Ahmet Gökkuş , Mehmet Kerim Güllap , Halil İbrahim Erkovan , Mustafa Sürmen

https://doi.org/10.51801/turkjrfs.987396

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Rangeland plant communities respond to environmental changes depending on management practices, climate, topography, and time. The objective of the study was to determine the changes in abundancy of functional plant groups, range condition score, class, and health with different topographical characteristics between 1993 and 2013. Trends in the investigated characteristics changed depending on aspect and topography. While the abundancy of decreaser and increaser plants decreased, invader plant abundancy increased over two decades. Similarly, range condition score, class, and health also declined in this period. The changes in investigated properties showed uneven distribution among the sites due to uncontrolled grazing practices and site characteristics. The results indicated that range degradation has been continued under current grazing practices. Therefore sustainable range management strategies should be put urgently into practice for the conservation of natural resources in the highland hilly rangelands of Turkey.

Keywords

Highland rangelands, topography, plant functional groups, range condition and health

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