By-products and their exploitation methods
J. Motamedi; H. Arzani; Y. Asri; M. Najafpour Navaei; R. Khalifehzadeh
Abstract
The knowledge of rangelands suitability is a requirement for the exploitation of medicinal plants of those rangelands. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to evaluate the exploitability of MPs in 12 representative habitats of semi-steppe regions based on the ecological and economic (E&E) ...
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The knowledge of rangelands suitability is a requirement for the exploitation of medicinal plants of those rangelands. Accordingly, the present study was conducted to evaluate the exploitability of MPs in 12 representative habitats of semi-steppe regions based on the ecological and economic (E&E) indices. For this purpose, after measuring the vegetation and estimating the production of MPs, the E&E indices related to the exploitation of MPs in each habitat were calculated. Finally, based on the indices, the suitability class of each habitat was determined according to the FAO guidelines by the limiting factor method. The results showed that the forage available of habitats varied from 90 to 591 kg.ha-1. Also, the share of MPs production in habitats was obtained between 5 and 58%. In other words, the production of MPs in the habitats varied from 27 to more than 383 kg.ha-1. Accordingly, the expected value of each hectare of habitats from the exploitation of MPs, taking into account the discount rate of 5.4% in September 2020, varied from 3 to 41 $.ha-1. Overall, the suitability of the habitats varied between good to unsuitable (25% good, 17% moderate, 25% low, and 33% unsuitable) in terms of production and exploitation of MPs, but all the habitats had good suitability in terms of forage production for grazing. Therefore, the exploitation of all the habitats cannot play an important and equal role in improving the livelihood of pastoralists and with the approach of preserving the plant genetic resources, the exploitation of MPs in all the rangeland habitats could not be recommended. In addition, the permitted exploitation limit in each habitat varies according to the conditions and trend of the rangeland and the sensitivity of the soil to erosion. This issue should be considered in the policy of paying attention to MPs, and it should be emphasized in the multi-purpose rangeland management plans.
By-products and their exploitation methods
V. Abdollahi; H. Arzani; M.A Zare Chahuki; H. Movahed Mohammadi; Gh Haderbadi; J. Motamedi
Abstract
The utilization of medicinal plants based on the ecological principles is one of the aspects of multi-purpose use of rangelands. Therefore, the capability of Darmiyan mountain rangelands in the east of the country to exploit medicinal plants was evaluated. For this purpose, in addition to the ecological ...
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The utilization of medicinal plants based on the ecological principles is one of the aspects of multi-purpose use of rangelands. Therefore, the capability of Darmiyan mountain rangelands in the east of the country to exploit medicinal plants was evaluated. For this purpose, in addition to the ecological indicators, the economic, social, and environmental indicators related to the indigenous knowledge were also considered. In this regard, the vegetation inventory was performed inside the 60 two-square-meter plots located at a distance of 20 m from each other along the 200-meter transects, and the share of medicinal species in the plant composition was calculated. The limitations and potentials of the region to exploit the medicinal plants were also evaluated from the point of view of exploiters and experts by designing a set of questions in the form of Likert scale. The final suitability map to exploit the medicinal plants based on the good, medium, low, and non-suitable degrees of suitability was prepared by integrating the maps in the GIS and based on the FAO limiting factor approach. The results showed that 50.11% (6367.83 ha) and 49.89% (6341.44 ha) of the rangelands had medium and low suitability for exploitation, respectively. The canopy percentage had the highest share of limiting the suitability of plant types, in which the harvest of medicinal plants is less recommended to protect the soil and improve the rangeland conditions. The guaranteed purchase of medicinal plants from the exploiters and providing them with the necessary training on various aspects of this profession, will also increase the capability of this type of rangelands exploitation. Accordingly, they should be given more attention in designing the instructions to determine the rangelands suitability to exploit the medicinal plants.
A. alemzadeh gorji; Gh. Heshmati; E. Zandi Esfahan; J. Motamedi
Abstract
Identification and cultivation of new oilseeds is an important step in supplying the oil needed in the country. Regarding the vastness of saline areas in the country, the cultivation and exploitation of salinity-resistant plants under saline conditions of both water and soil can be an appropriate option ...
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Identification and cultivation of new oilseeds is an important step in supplying the oil needed in the country. Regarding the vastness of saline areas in the country, the cultivation and exploitation of salinity-resistant plants under saline conditions of both water and soil can be an appropriate option in the field of production and extraction of oils from salinity-resistant plants. The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of extractable oil and the compounds of fatty acids in two halophyte species Salicornia europaeae and Halocnemum strobilaceum on the shores of Lake Urmia. For this purpose, the seeds of the species were collected in autumn of 2016. Fatty acids were extracted by solvent. The solvent-oil mixture was separated by rotary vacuum distiller, and after methyl ester preparation and injection into the gas chromatography (GC), fatty acids were analyzed. To identify the fatty acids, a standard mixture of fatty acids (Sigma Co.) and their inhibition times were used. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using independent t-test. The mean oil yields of two species of S. europaeae and H. strobilaceum was obtained 18.58 and 9.28%, respectively. In total, 12 fatty acids including lauric acid (C12: 0), merisitic acid (C14: 0), myristoleic acid (C14: 1n5), palmitic acid (C16: 0), palmitoleic acid (C16: 1n7), stearic acid (C18: 0), oleic acid (C18: 1n9), linoleic acid (C18: 2n6cis), α-linolenic acid (C18: 3n3), g-linoleic acid (C18: 3n6), and arachidic acid (C20: 0) were recorded in the profiles of these two species. Linoleic acid was the most major unsaturated fatty acid in S. europaeae and H. strobilaceum, at 56 and 54.7%, respectively. Palmitic acid was also predominant saturated fatty acid in S. europaeae and H. strobilaceum, at 11.4 and 9.7%, respectively. The results showed that according to the oil yield (18.58%) and percentage of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids identified, S. europaeae seeds could be evaluated as a source of edible oil.
M.H. Pezeshki; J. Motamedi; A. Alijanpour; M. Souri; M.R. Najibzadeh; H. Arzani
Abstract
It is important to determine the suitability of rangelands for the utilization of medicinal plants. The purpose of this study was to introduce some of the criteria and indicators, influencing the rangelands suitability for medicinal plants exploitation and to investigate the differences between the results ...
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It is important to determine the suitability of rangelands for the utilization of medicinal plants. The purpose of this study was to introduce some of the criteria and indicators, influencing the rangelands suitability for medicinal plants exploitation and to investigate the differences between the results of using different approaches of suitability determination. To this end, the suitability of the Arshad Chaman rangeland was evaluated in terms of the utilization of medicinal plants. The results showed that according to the limiting factor method (a common method of determining the suitability of rangelands), 2, 6 and 77 percent of rangelands had respectively good, moderate and low suitability and 15 percent were not suitable for utilization. The mathematical method (using hierarchical analysis process) showed 4, 26, and 45 percent of the rangelands as good, moderate, and low suitability, respectively, and 25 percent as inappropriate for exploitation. The application of the theoretical method (MSMPE) also showed that 39 and 61 percent of the rangelands had respectively good and moderate suitability. In general, it was observed that there were no significant differences between the classes of suitability obtained by the limiting factor and the mathematical methods; however, there was a difference between the classes obtained by the limiting factor and MSMPE methods, and different classes of suitability were obtained for a given area of rangeland in these three methods. Therefore, it is recommended to test the accuracy of the findings of the present study to achieve a practical result in different years in terms of climatic events and other locations with different physical properties. Overall, based on the combined results of different approaches and in terms of physical and environmental constraints, the study area had low suitability for the exploitation of medicinal plants. Therefore, to reduce the livestock pressure on rangelands and increase the diversity of medicinal plants, more attention should be paid to the other aspects of rangeland use such as beekeeping and free tourism.
J. Motamedi; E. Sofi Khajavi; A. Alijanpour; E. Sheidai Karkaj
Abstract
Study on the habitat characteristics of medicinal plants and estimating their production is one of the basic requirements for designing a future perspective document for utilization of by-products. Salep (Orchis palustris Jacq.) is one of the most important and highly valuable medicinal plants having ...
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Study on the habitat characteristics of medicinal plants and estimating their production is one of the basic requirements for designing a future perspective document for utilization of by-products. Salep (Orchis palustris Jacq.) is one of the most important and highly valuable medicinal plants having a significant distribution in the meadows of Targavar region of Urmia. Hence, among the meadows, six locations that were easier to reach and the distribution of Salep was more uniform were selected. In each location, using 60 plots of 60×25 cm2 that were randomly located within 10 plots with 10×1 m2, the number of Salep bases were counted and traits including crown cover percentage, plant height and tuber production were measured. Three composite soil samples from each location were randomly taken from the depth of root development of dominant species, and soil characteristics including sand, silt, clay, acidity, electrical conductivity, organic matter and total nitrogen were measured. The depth of groundwater (in each location) was considered as a criterion for moisture level and altitude, to analyze the relationship between habitat characteristics and plant traits. For this purpose, based on the calculated gradient length, the redundancy analysis (RDA) method was used as a linear method. The results of RDA showed that plant traits, especially tuber weight, were directly affected by the amount of organic matter, organic carbon, total nitrogen and clay percentage of the habitats. The mentioned traits are reversely related with altitude, groundwater depth and soil acidity of locations. In general, the Salep species more prefer low-altitude habitats such as alluvial plains with fertile, neutral acidity and heavy texture soils and high groundwater surface.