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Vegetation and species diversity in the floodplain of the Abbid Sarbisheh-Gotvand watershed in Khuzestan province
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Mehri Dinarvand *  , Saba Peyrov , Seyed hossein Arami , Aram Sametzadeh |
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Abstract: (35 Views) |
Introduction:
Water erosion is one of the most important regions of land degradation in most parts of Iran, leading to the loss of fertile topsoil. In this regard, the principled implementation of watershed management projects and biological measures, especially the use of native vegetation cover in parts of the watershed that have low and moderate erosion, can effectively control soil erosion. Monitoring and measuring biodiversity indicators in these areas can reveal the effect of watershed management structures on native vegetation after nearly twenty years. The purpose of this research is to document and analyze the vegetation of the region, providing a better understanding of the list of car species and the impact of flood spread on native vegetation using vegetation indicators.
Materials and methods:
In this study, vegetation analysis was carried out in the Abbid-Sarbisheh aquifer zone located in Gotvand County, Khuzestan Province, using biodiversity indicators. Based on field surveys of the structures constructed at the station, two one-hectare plots were considered in the floodplain and control areas. Since the vegetation was similar in terms of species composition, 30 plots were randomly planted in the floodplain and 30 plots outside it. During the growing season, the percentage of live cover of species, the percentage of bare ground, litter, and debris were recorded. Also, all plant species were identified to the subspecies and variety level. Then, the indices of species number, percentage of cover, and species diversity (Simpson and Shannon) were calculated. Vegetation cover in the plots was statistically compared using an independent t-test.
RResults and discussion:
Within the flood spreading area survey identified 40 plant species belonging to 16 families in this area. 90% of the species had a therophyte or annual and short-lived vegetative form. The results of statistical analysis also showed that there is a significant difference at the 1% level between the average of all Shannon, Simpson indices, percentage of cover, and number of plant species in plots in the floodplain area and plots outside the floodplain. In the floodplain, the number of species, percentage of cover, Simpson index, and Shannon index are higher than in the control area, which indicates the effective role of floodplain operations in the area.
Conclusions:
Floodplain operations have an effective role in restoring vegetation and species diversity and can be implemented as a model in other regions of the Khuzestan plain with similar conditions. Despite the emergence of vegetation following floodplains, these areas are still very fragile, and the diversity of vegetation is dependent on rainfall due to the dominance of short-lived species. Therefore, in addition to preventing destruction, purposeful fencing and grazing management in the area should also be considered |
Article number: 5 |
| Keywords: Vegetation Cover and Species Diversity in the Flood Spreading Area of the Ab-Bid Sarbisheh Gotvand Watershed, Khuzestan Province |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2025/08/11 | Revised: 2025/08/31 | Accepted: 2025/09/15 | Published: 2025/09/20 | ePublished: 2025/09/20
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