Determination of forage quality of several rangeland plant species in the active growth stage

In this study, the nutritive value of several important range species was investigated in semiarid rangelands of central Zagros in 2010. Sampling was performed within the 2-square-meter plots by clipping method. The important forage quality indices; Nitrogen (N), Crude Protein (CP), Ash, Ether Extract (Ee), Natural Detergent Fiber (NDF), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Digestible Energy (DE), Dry Matter Digestibility (DMD), Metabolizable Energy (ME), Dry Matter Intake (DMI) and Relative Feed Value (RFV) were analyzed. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. The correlation between quality parameters was determined based on the relative quality index in MVSP, Mosaic, and PC-ORD software. There was a positive correlation between CP, DMD, DMI, and RFV for all species; however, a negative correlation was found between ADF, CP, and RFV. The results of the statistical analysis showed that forage quality of species (Leguminoseae and Gramineae) was significantly different (P