Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology

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Dinarvand M, Fayaz: M, Behnamfar: K, Khaksarian F, Yasrebi B, Arami S .. Assessment of Species Diversity and Vegetation Richness Indices in Two Dust Centers of Khuzestan Province. Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology 2021; 9 (4) :73-87
URL: http://ijae.iut.ac.ir/article-1-1006-en.html

Mansourieh and Sharifieh are two recently dried wetlands in Khuzestan province, that have become important dust sources. This study was carried out in Sharifieh and Mansourieh wetlands to assess the vegetation condition and trend, following the implementation of water spreading and artificial recharge in recent years. To evaluate changes in vegetation, five transects of 100 meters, 50 meters apart, were established in the water spreading site in a random systematic manner, and data was collected from 30 permanent plots for six times between 2017-2019. Species richness and diversity indices were measured using the coverage percentage factor. The results obtained in Mansourieh showed a significant difference between the water spreading site and the non-irrigated site. Simpson and Shannon indices showed a gradual increase in species diversity following the implementation of flood spreading by means of Shahid Poursharifi Channel. Likewise, in Sharifieh wetland, Shannon and Simpson diversity indices improved in response to the enhancement of species richness and decreasing dominance (from two dominant species to over 20 species). In Sharifieh, we obtained a significant difference between the years 2017 and 2018 in terms of diversity indices. In general, the flood spreading areas will experience an improvement in native vegetation, which will be translated into reduced dusts storm frequency and severity.