The effect of grazing management on spatial distribution of two cool-season grasses in Fereidan rangelands

Grazing is an effective factor on many aspects of plant species and communities. This anthropogenic factor, which became a destructive operant in Iran due to mismatch to range capacity, can affect the individuals of a plant species and thus, alter its spatial distribution. In the current study, the effect of short term exclosure on geographical distribution of two cool season grasses (Bromus tomentellus and Agropyron trichophorum) investigated using historical presence data. To do so, SRE modeling method (which is a presence-only model) was used to generate distribution maps before and after applying the exclosure. Presence coordinates of each species determined from 98 permanent exclosures. The number of B. tomentellus presence spots were 31 and 37 points before and after applying exclosures; respectively. The number of A. trichophorum presence spots were 16 and 25 points before and after applying exclosures; respectively. 19 bioclimatic variables used as environmental variables. The results indicated that the area of suitable climatic habitat of B. tomentellus before applying the exclosure (125868 ha) was considerably more than A. trichophorum (32515 ha). Nonetheless, applying the exclosure caused a 58% increase in suitable habitat of A. trichophorum versus 9% increase for B. tomentellus; which suggest that the grazing had a higher relative influence on A. trichophorum and removing the grazing pressure capacitated this species to retrieve its habitats. It should be emphasized that B. tomentellus should be considered as a more tolerant species to climatic conditions due to its prevalent distribution.