Canopy cover and production estimation and susceptible areas locating of Sumac (Rhus coriaria) cultivation in Khakriz rangelands of Ardabil province

The aim of this study was to investigate the canopy cover and seed production of medicinal-economic Sumac (Rhus coriaria) seeds and locating susceptible areas of Sumac in rangelands of Khakriz village, Bilesavar County, Ardabil province. For this purpose, three sites (a total of 60 hectares) with Sumac cover and in each site three transects were parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the slope with intervals of 100 meters, were established. Along each transect used 10 plots of five square meters with 20-meter intervals using a random-systematic sampling (a total of 90 plots) and the position of each plot was recorded using GPS. Sumac seeds in each plot were harvested by clipping and weighted method. Maps of environmental factors (elevation, slope, aspect, annual precipitation, and temperature) created using digital elevation models (DEM) in ArcGIS and then values of each environmental factor extracted for each Sumac site and the questionnaire of ratings were completed in this regard. Then, to determine the areas susceptible to cultivating Sumac in the Khakriz rangelands, the analytic network process (ANP) method, was used. The results showed that the areas with Sumac cover had 657.88 kg/ha seed production and 263.12 kg/ha of powdered seed production. The results of ANP indicated that 157.12 hectares of the area were very suitable, 138.10 hectares were suitable, 110.60 hectares were medium, 46.01 hectares were poor and 46.17 hectares were unsuitable for Sumac cultivating. The results can be used to exploit, cultivate and increase the cover of Sumac in specified areas.