Influence of topography on Brant`s oak decline in Meleh-Siah Forest, Ilam Province

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Assistant Prof., Research Division of Natural Resources, Ilam Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center, AREEO, Ilam, Iran

2 Senior Research Expert, Research Division of Natural Resources, Ilam Agricultural and

Abstract

During the last decade, oak decline has caused critical health issues within the Zagros forests in west Iran, which is currently approaching a threatening level with effects on stand structure and stability. Identifying the influential factors on the spread of this phenomenon can thus help forest planners and administrating units to control the crisis. This study aimed to assess different aspects influencing deterioration of oak trees with respect to stands environmental characteristics in the southern part of Zagros forests. For this purpose, 12 declined stand dominated by Brant`s oak (Quercus brantii) at different conditions in both the North and South aspects as well as two altitudes and three replications were chosen within Meleh-Siah forest site in Ilam province. A transect line was randomly assigned to each of the stands, along each or which three square plots (2500 square meter) were laid. Within the plots, all individual trees were inventoried. By using a randomized complete block and factorial design, methods were used to compare the mean values of the inventoried parameters. Although the results showed no significant difference between diameter, height, crown length and basal area of the stands along gradients of aspect and altitude, significant effect of aspect on decline rate in seed based trees as well as altitude on coppice trees were observed. The degree of decline in south aspect was greater than in north aspect. In addition, lower elevations showed larger effects than higher elevations. The interaction between two factors was also significant on the decline rate.

Keywords

References

- Baccala, N.B., Rosso, P.H. and Havrylenko, M., 1998. Austrocedrus chilensis mortality in the Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina). Forest Ecology and Management, 109: 261-269.
- Bale, C.L., Williams, J.B. and Charley, J.L., 1998. The impact of aspect on forest structure and floristics in some Eastern Australian sites. Forest Ecology and Management, 110: 363-377.
- Barnes, B.V., Zak, D.R., Denton, S.R. and Spurr, S.H., 1997. Forest Ecology. 4th edition,, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, 774p.
- Drohan, P.J., Stout, S.L. and Petersen, G.W., 2002. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) decline during 1979–1989 in northern Pennsylvania. Forest Ecology and Management, 170: 1-17.
- Eckhardt, L.G. and Menard, R.D., 2008. Topographic features associated with loblolly pine decline in Central Alabama. Forest Ecology and Management, 255: 1735-1739.
- Eckhardt, L.G., Weber, A.M., Menard, R.D., Jones, J.P. and Hess, N.J., 2007. Association of an insect-fungal complex with loblolly pine decline in central Alabama. Forest Science, 53: 84-92.
- Gerardin, V. and Ducruc, J.P., 1990. An objective approach to evaluating natural drainage of forest mineral soils for non-specialists. Vegetatio, 87: 127-133.
- Griffiths, R.P., Madritch, M.D. and Swansona, A.K., 2009. The effects of topography on forest soil characteristics in the Oregon Cascade Mountains (USA): Implications for the effects of climate change on soil properties. Forest Ecology and Management, 257: 1-7.
- Hanna, A.Y., Harlan, P.W. and Lewis, D.T., 1982. Soil available water as influenced by landscape position and aspect. Agronomy Journal, 74: 999-1004.
- Horsley, S.B., Long, R.P., Bailey, S.W., Hallett, R.A. and Hall, T.J., 2000. Factors associated with the decline-disease of sugar maple on the Allegheny Plateau. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 30: 1365-1378.
- Jalali, Gh., 1996. Investigation on Beech decline factors, in Sari forests. Ph.D. thesis, University of Tarbiat Modares, 134p (In Persian).
- Kabrick, J.M., Shifley, S.R. and Jensen, R.G., 2004. Factors associated with oak mortality in Missouri Ozark Forests. In: Yaussy, D.A., Hix, D.M., Long, R.P. and Goebel, P.C. (Eds.). Proceedings of the 14th Central Hardwoods Forest Conference. General Technical Report NE-316, Newton Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, pp. 27-35.
- Kaufmann, R.M. and Ryan, G.M., 1986. Physiographic, stand, and environmental effects on individual tree growth and growth efficiency in subalpine forests. Tree Physiology, 2: 47-59.
- Levitt, J., 1980. Responses of plants to environmental stresses: water, radiation, salt, and other stresses. In: Kozlowski, T.T. (Ed.), Physiological Ecology, 2nd ed., vol. II. Academic Press, New York, 607p.
- Lundin, L., 1995. Soil water chemistry dependence on water pathways and turnover. Water Air Soil Pollution, 85: 1695-1700.
- Maleknia, R., Namiranian, M. and Feghhi, J., 2006. Investigation on the effective factors in agricultural lands selection in Zagros forest and their influence on forest stands status (Case study: cheshmeh Khazaneh rural boundary- Ilam). Forest & Rangeland, 71: 22-25.
- Marshall, T.J. and Holmes, J.W., 1988. Soil Physics. 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 111-330.
- Oak, S., Tainter, F., Williams, J. and Starkey, D., 1996. Oak decline risk rating for the Southeastern United States. Annals des Sciences Forestieres, 53: 721-730.
- Poole, E.A., Heitzman, E. and Guldin, J.M., 2006. Site factors influencing oak decline in the interior highlands of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. General Technical Report SRS-92, Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, pp. 428-430.
- Stage, R.A. and Salas, Ch., 2007. Interactions of elevation, aspect, and slope in models of forest species composition and productivity. Forest Science, 53(4): 486-492.
- Starkey, D.A. and Oak, S.W., 1989. Site factors and stand conditions associated with oak decline in southern upland hardwood forests. In: Rink, G. and Budelsky, C.A. (Eds.) Proceedings of the Seventh Central Hardwood Forest Conference. General Technical Report NC-132, St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station, pp. 95-102.
- Tainter, F.H. and Baker, F.A., 1996. Principles of Forest Pathology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, Chichester, Brisbane, Toronto, Singapore, 805p.
- Talebi, M., Sagheb-Talebi, Kh. and Jahanbazi, H., 2006. Site demands and some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Persian Oak (Quercus brantii Lindl.) in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari Province (western Iran). Iranian Journal of Forest and Poplar Research, 14(1): 67-79 (In Persian).
- Thomas, A.L., Gerout, J.C., Landmann, G., Dambrine, E. and King, D., 2002. Relation between ecological conditions and fir decline in a sandstone region of the Vosges Mountains (northern France). Annals of Forest Science, 59: 265-273.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics