Evaluation of populations of some of the most important forage shrubs in Yazd province

A significant area of the country's rangelands has been destroyed by various factors such as uncontrolled exploitation, climate change, and other factors. An important part of the rangeland plants has been endangered, and the abundance of some important plant species has been severely reduced. To create stability in such rangelands, their improvement and rehabilitation by selecting suitable species and finding the best cultivation and establishment methods have a special priority. For this purpose, the seeds of the most important populations of perennial plants and forages, along with their existing populations, were collected from the rangelands of different regions of Yazd and South Khorasan provinces on appropriate dates. The study was conductedin the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications in the field conditions, and the characteristics of forage production yield, canopy cover percentage, height, and seed yield were recorded. Data were analyzed using SAS software, and the means were compared with the Duncan test. The results showed that the populations of Kharanagh, (production 1094 g per plant and canopy cover 10548 cm2) Tabas (production 1734 g per plant and canopy cover 17221 cm2) Halothamnus subaphyllus and Tabas population of Salsola imbricata (production 2278 g per plant and canopy cover 22221 cm2) and Bahabad population of Salsola yazdiana (production 530 g per plant and canopy cover 4646 cm2) were superior in terms of the evaluated traits compared to other populations that could be taken into account for the improvement of saline rangelands.