The structure and composition of riparian forests of Maroon River, Behbahan

Abstract

Structure and composition of Maroon riparian forests (Behbahan, Khuzestan Province) were studied. Transect-quadrate method was used to establish 79 plots of 100m2 each within the 82-ha study site. A set of structural stand attributes including diameter, height, canopy and the height/diameter relationship were measured and derived. In addition, the density, dominance, biodiversity and importance value index were calculated to describe the stand composition. Mean collar diameter for main woody species (Populus euphratica Oliv., Tamarix arceuthoides Beg., Lycium shawii Roem and Schult.) were 33.3, 5.5 and 6.4cm respectively. In addition, the mean measured height of those species were 5.5m, 1.1m and 0.9m, respectively. In addition, the mean canopy cover of the three woody species were 696.5, 7.9 and 30.7m2 per hectare. Exploring the height curve of those tree species indicates that P. euphratica is mainly established in the overstory, whereas T. arceuthoides and L. shawii represent the understory. T. arceuthoides (48.24%) and Trachynia distachya (L.) Link (21.07%) showed the highest relative densities amongst woody and herbaceous species. The relative dominance of T. arceuthoides (79.2%) and Phragmites australis (CAV.) TRIN (18.2%) indicates the predominance of those two species across the study site. The maximum important value index was found to be 127.42% for T. arceuthoides. With 27.32% coverage, T. distachya was shown to be the dominant herbaceous species. Finally, the diversity of herbaceous and woody species in the region was proven to be appropriate. This study showed that riparian forests of Maroon in Behbahan can be considered as uneven aged and mixed stands bearing a high structural and compositional heterogeneity.

Keywords

• stand structure
• characteristics
• importance value index
• diversity
• Populus euphratica
• Tamarix arceuthoides
• Khuzestan