Changes in chemical composition and nutritive value of four halophyte shrubs at three phonological stages (Case study: marginal rangelands of Mighan playa)

Saline areas and marginal rangelands of some playas in Iran have important role to supply forage for livestock. This study was conducted to compare forage quality of four native halophyte and salt tolerant species including: Atriplex verruciferum, Halocnemum strobilaceum, Haloxylon persicum and Nitraria schoberi, collected from Meighan saline rangelands near Arak (Markazi province). Edible parts of aerial biomass of the species were collected in three phonological stages (vegetative growth, full flowering and seed ripening). Forage quality indices such as Crude Protein (CP), Dry Matter Digestibility (DMD), Dry Matter Intake (DMI), Metabolizable Energy (ME), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and Phosphorus (P) contents of the plant samples were measured. The results showed that the forage quality were different significantly between the species and various phonological stages (p