Effect of livestock type and grazing intensity on vegetation composition and ‎diversity in ‎Armardeh forests, Baneh‎

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of grazing intensity and type of livestock and environmental factors on vegetation composition and diversity in five areas with different livestock types (cattle, Markhoz goat, Mo goat, and sheep) and different grazing intensities (five treatments) at the forests of Armardeh. In total, 34 sample plots (100 m^2) for vegetation cover sampling were taken. Differences between regions in terms of species diversity were analyzed using analysis of variance and the effect of livestock grazing on vegetation composition using Redundancy Analysis (RDA). Result indicates that, control and the region with four livestock types have highest and lowest diversity respectievely. Canopy cover (percent), elevation, Quercues branti- Q. infectoria type, and stocking rate where the most important environmental factors are driving vegetation composition. Livestock type and grazing intensity with some environmental variables shape affect significantly the vegetation composition, in a way that with increasing grazing intensity and livestock type, annual and invasive plants appear in highest presence and with decreasing of those, forbs, shrubs, and geophyte plants are widely spread in the vegetation composition.