Study of ecological and growth characteristics of Elaeagnus angustifolia in West Azerbaijan province

Studying of natural sites, ecological conditions and quantifying and qualifying characteristics of species provide important data applicable for site management. Four natural sites have been chosen to study Elaeagnus angustifolia in Western Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Hundred percent inventory were carried out to measure the quantifying and qualifying factors such as diameter at breath height (dbh), height, crown cover, number of coppices. Three soil samples were taken from each site and parameters such as pH, N, P, K, C, EC, soil texture were measured for further analysis. Regression analysis was applied in order to find any relation between diameter at breath height with total height and crown cover. For comparing different quantifying factors and production rate at various regions, Kruskall-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test as non-parametric tests were applied. A PCA is used in order to find an influence of soil type on various characteristics of productions. The average d.b.h in Malone, Osaloye-Kazem, Ghoshchi, and Rabat was 14.2,11.6, 22.5, and 18.6 cm, respectively. The average height of trees was 6.16 m in Ghoshchi, 5.13 m in Malone, 5.1 m in Oslaoye-Kazem and 4.11 m in Rabat. The average production rate was 7.9 kg in Ghoshchi and it is followed by Osaloye Kazem (6.51kg) and Rabat (5.03 kg).The results showed that there were no significant differences in production rate among the sites. Among different elements of soil, potassium was the most influencing element on the production rate while soil texture was the second most important variable. The other factors were not statistically significant.