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.