International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences © 2013 Available online at www.irjabs.com ISSN 2251-838X / Vol, 5 (4): 451-457 Science Explorer Publications

Sanitary silvicultural operation in Wild Almond forest (Amygdalusscopariaspach.)

(Case study: Khalilabad KhorasanRazavi, Iran)

Mohammad Reza Pourmajidian1, Hamid Ahani2

1. Associate professor of silviculture, Sari Agricultural sciences and natural resources University, Iran. 2. PhD candidate of forest sciences, Sari Agricultural sciences and natural resources University, Iran.

Corresponding Author email:Ahani1977@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society on a sustainable basis. The goal of thinning is to control the amount and distribution of available growing space. By altering stand density, foresters can influence the growth, quality, and health of residual trees. Method of inventory was applied by randomized- systematic plot. Average number of trees in each base hectare (polygon of 22 hectares) is 20.9 and stem per hectares for regeneration was 13.9. The average percentage of forest cover in Amygdalus Khalilabad was 2.3 percent. In plan of Wild Amygdalus reserve we planted several time pots of seedlings but these were unsuccessful. Reforestation in this region because of climate change, rabbit and drought had not good results, then reconstruction and rehabilitation exist trees had more importance. This operation was accomplished for first time in KhalilabdTwonship in KhorasanRazavi province of Iran. Trees after sanitary cutting and pruning with basin system for water harvesting cause to promote quality of tree viability. We could conservation of old forest by silvicultural emprises. Keywords: health trunk, sanitary, siviculture, arid.

INTRODUCTION

Silviculture is the practice of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of

forests to meet diverse needs and values. The name comes from the Latin silvi- (forest) + culture (as in growing). The study of forests and woods is termed silvology.To some the distinction between forestry and silviculture is that silviculture is applied at the stand level and forestry is broader. Complete regimes for regenerating, tending, and harvesting forests are called "silvicultural systems" (Matthews, 1991). A common taxonomy divides silviculture into regenerating, tending and harvesting techniques. Forest regeneration is the act of renewing tree cover by establishing young trees, generally promptly after the previous stand or forest has been removed. The method, species, and density are chosen to meet the goal of the landowner.It may be divided into natural regeneration: "Human-assisted natural regeneration" means establishment of a forest age class from natural seeding or sprouting in an area after harvesting in that area through selection cutting, shelter (or seed-tree) harvest, soil preparation, or restricting the size of a clear-cut stand to secure natural regeneration from the surrounding trees. Artificialregeneration: Tree provenance is important in artificial regeneration. Good provenance takes into account suitable tree genetics and a good environmental fit for planted / seeded trees in a forest stand. The wrong phenotype can lead to failed regeneration, or poor trees that are prone to pathogens and undesired outcomes. Whichever method is chosen it can be assisted by tending techniques also known as Intermediate stand treatments.This means increasing the planting density (i.e., the numbers of plants per hectare) in an already growing forest stand (IPCC, 2012).

Releasetreatments:Weeding: A treatment implemented during a stand's seedling stage which removes or reduces herbaceous or woody shrub competition. Cleaning: Release of select saplings from competition by overtopping trees of a comparable age. The treatment favors trees of a desired species and stem quality.Liberation Cutting: A treatment that releases tree seedling or saplings by removing older overtopping trees.

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Thinning: It provides an opportunity to capture mortality and cull the commercially less desirable, usually smaller and malformed, trees. Unlike regeneration treatments, thinning are not intended to establish a new tree crop or create permanent canopy openings. Common thinning methods: Low Thinning (thinning from below or German thinning) Crown Thinning (thinning from above or French method) Selection Thinning (thinning of dominants method) Mechanical Thinning (row thinning or geometric thinning) Free Thinning Ecological thinning is where the primary aim of forest thinning is to increase growth of selected trees, favoring development of wildlife habitat (such as hollows) rather than focusing on increased timber yields. Ecological thinning can be considered a new approach to landscape restoration for some types of Amygdalus forests and woodlands in Iran. Pruning:Pruning, as a silvicultural practice, refers to the removal of the lower branches of the young trees (also giving the shape to the tree) so clear knot-free wood can subsequently grow over the branch stubs. Clear knot-free lumber has a higher value. Forest care: This may be reducing browsing. It can also be techniques for dealing with forest pathogens.Considerable expertise is needed in planning the silvicultural pathway of a stand. A stand may be capable of responding to thinning at any time for several decades, and different silvicultural pathways could be designed that included thinning. Ultimately, the trees may become too crowded and weakened if not thinned, and the stand may be destroyed by insects, blow over, and/or burn up whether they are thinned or not thinned. In this case, the “window of opportunity” for thinning would have been lost (Society of American Foresters). Forests of the arid and semi-arid, mostlysparseanditsconservationisusedmore than any otheraspectof, samplefusionvector(a Transect -plots)toestimatethe levelofcover andnumberacresof treesinthe forestwere conducted. Inventory method, combined with the sample and the sample taken from the sample is a constant vector plots. Regular grid network is designed to comply with UTM, which is actually the starting point of each grid intersection points of a line - plots can be found on the map. Then,at theconfluence ofthe sidesofthegrid300 meterslongalong thenorth side ofthenetwork was implemented. Thedetailsofthewoodenelementswitha diameter of2 metersand acanopyover itand partof thecrownontransectwillberecorded.In addition,during thefirsttransect (cross over network) to within 20 meters (10 meterson each sideofthe line) and length of50 malong thetransectanarea of1000 square metersplot was implemented that this plot characteristics of woody species by crown diameter less than 2 meter were measured and recorded (Forest resources affairs office, 2004). The formulaforcalculating thenumberofstem per hectares, surfacecover, percentage of cover forStatistical analysisofwoodenelementsin theplotare presentedinTable1. Plant systematic: Amygdalusscopariaspach or wild almond is evergreen almond in almond genus.AmygdalusscopariaSpach: Synonym of Prunusscoparia (Spach) C. K. Schneid.Genus: Amygdalus and Family: Rosaceae. Almond is one of the major and oldest tree nut crops in the world. It belongs to genus Prunus, subgenus Amygdalus, family Rosaceae. The almond originated in the hot and dry climate of the Middle East, more specifically Iran, and was subsequently spread along the shores of the Mediterranean towards northern Africa and southern Europe by Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.AmygdalusscopariaSpach is an unresolved name in theplantlist site. This species is in semi arid region of Iran such as Qom, Esfahan, Markazi and Khorasan.

MATERIALS AND METHODS The study area:The study area KhalilbabdAmygdalus forest reserve design area 361 hectares (22 hectares central zone) is situated about 13.5 kilometers distance from center of Khalilabad Township in Korean Razavi province. From northern is near to Neghab and Mirabad village, eastern to Talabadand western to Kalateshoor and by southern is to Chelgir village. Lengths in terms of geographical area 58 '21 ˚ 30" to 58 '20 ˚ 22" East and Midwest 35' 9˚ 17" to 35' 7˚ 37” North is located. Studies within the average height of 1022 m, average slope of 6.3% and the North Slope is dominant. Average annual rainfall ranges Studies 175 mm and average annual temperature of 20.2° C(maximum temperature is 55°C and minimum is -13°C). Theregion's annual rainfallandtemperature show climatewithdryandaridzoneclimate.Q2orAmbergie climate index (15.6) is obtained in this area cold and drought region. Dry period is 6 months from June to early November. Forest areaunder studyconsistsofunitsFormationOssh, Sn,Dp و,Nggm, Qt1 andQtfbelonging to theEoceneperiod,Cretaceousperiod, earlyTertiaryandQuaternarydepositson them.

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Figure1

Study area with 22 hectares of wild almond reserve in Khalilabad, KhorasanRazavi, Iran

Method: Forest of our area except northern of Iran are semi arid and conservative aspects is more important than other uses. We use transect with plot method together for estimation of vegetation cover. It was carried out in the forest canopy and the number of trees per hectare (forest resources Office 2005). For calculating the number of acres, and percent canopy level, the statistical calculations were performed (Zubairi 1994 and 2002). Table1. Formula for analyze

Equation.1

L

CDN

n

i i

L

L

i

1

4 110

Equation.2

L

CD

CC

n

ii

L

L

1

2500

Equation.3 s

nN i

i

P

P

1000

Equation.4 4

)( 21

DDC

Pi

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Equation.5 PiP CCC

Equation.6 s

CCCC P

haP

1000

Equation.7 10000

100%

ha

haP

P

CCCC

iLN : number of woody species per hectares in L transect, L: length of transect, Li

CD: crown diameter of i tree

perpendicular on L transect, LCC: cover area per hectare for transect, n: number of trees and shrub that cover or

shade of them cross to transect, iPN

:density (stem per hectare of woody species), s: plot area, iP

n : number of

woody species per plot, PiC

: cover area of woody species i in plot p, 1D : large diameter of cover , 2D : small

diameter of cover, PCC: cover area in plot, haP

CC%: percent of woody species cover per plot

RESULTS

Average number of trees in each base hectare (polygon of 22 hectares) is 20.9 and stem per hectares for regeneration was 13.9. The average percentage of forest cover in Amygdalus Khalilabad was 2.3 percent.Out of a totalof460basiswild almond trees (Amygdalusscoparia) intheforestreserve, 456seed-borne andground-based coppicethere areonly4. A total of306seedlingsalsoavailableinventory, are inthe form standard system. There are 460 trees and 306 saplings in 22 hectares of forest reserve. TreeofFreshness of (succulence)at15.4percent(71 stems) are Level 1, 74.8percent(344 stems) level 2and9.8%(45 stems) arelevel 3. Thetotal number ofseedlings (306)inthe field, 30.7 percent(94 stems) class1, 65.7%(201 stems) class 2andonly 3.6%(11 stems) areClass 3. Level or class 1 is the best quality of plants. Healthoftrees; 16.3Percent(75 stems) Level 1, 73.9percent(340 stems) level 2and9.8percent(45 stems) are inlevel3.

Table2. Number of stems of trees and regeneration

Regeneration Trees Stem succulence Health trunk Stem succulence Level1 Level2 Level3 Level1 Level2 Level3 Level1 Level2 Level3 94 201 11 75 340 45 71 344 45

The meanlevel of tree canopy per hais 230.5m

2(equivalent to 2.3%cover) and for regeneration was 4.8m

2.

Density is 34.8 and Basal area mean of each stem is 6.2 cm2. Mean of height is 1.7 m. Mean of height for seedling

and a sapling (regeneration) is 0.6m. The results ofcalculating thenumberofhectaresof eachtransect with results of plots pluses and density per hectare

is estimated for transect-plot, i.e. iii PLt NNN . Also,to getthe percentage coverof eachsampleline-plot, the

results of calculatingthe percentage coverofeach linewithThe results ofcalculation ofthe percentage coverof eachplotgatheredtogetherandthe resultingnumber bythepercentage coverof eachsampleline-Plattestimatei.e:

iii PLt CCCCCC %%% (Zobairi, 2002,1994). In each instance the properties that plot size was recorded

include line numbers - the plot, the coordinates of the starting point, the date and time of the inventory, the name of the area above sea level, the average percent slope, for most geographical scope, type Thus, the gender of the base, crown diameter, crown health and happiness, the state of the health body, the number and type of

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regeneration, regeneration status, quality, forms silviculture, forest type, covering the floor, degradation of the drift and erosion.

Table3. Type of Rangeland Plants of study area code Dominant species Abbreviation Condition Trend Cover% I Salsolarechterii Sa.ri Poor Negative 33.2 II Salsolarechterii-Amigdalusspinosisma Sa.ri-Am.sp Poor Negative 63.7 III Salsolarechterii-Artemisia sieberii Sa.ri-Ar.si Poor Negative 38.3

There are good numbers of regeneration 306 of the 766 stems in the forest reserve (equivalent to 39.9%) in the form of seedlings, which indicates compliance with the requirements of this section is wild almond.

. Figure2. Level 3 of succulent tree and ready to die

Figure3. Basin system in order to water harvesting (Photo by H.Ahani)

Most of the trees in this reverse were ready to dry. A significant portion of the trees suffered dehydration due to climatic factors. The sanitary operation and silviculture of these forest in arid region is necessary. Sanitary cutting, pruning and splicing for without quality trees (level 2 and 3) were executed. Water harvesting operation same as pitting, contour furrow and basin system were established to harvesting rainfall in arid region.

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Figure4. Pruning and twigs cutting for rehabilitation (supervisor H.Ahani)

After executed thinning and sanitary operation in Khalilabad reserve in 2011, we observed promoting of health trunk and stem succulent in trees. Below histogram showed the results. Silviculture is the main part of forest sciences for conservation of natural resources.

Figure5. Condition of health and vigourity percent of trees before and after sanitary silviculture

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

We executed sanitary silviculturl operation in natural forest of Khalilabad in Iran. Cover percent always is the most important factor of measurement on arid and semi arid zone. Cover percent of Rahimabad pistachio forest is low due to low density of pistachio forest. . A tree density of 63 per hectare was estimated for NianKhorasan (Ahani and Mehrabi 2009) indicating lower density of Pistaciamutica species in habitat conditions similar to pistachio forest. According to theresultsobtainedpistachioforestcover, isabout4.54%, showing that the fragmentationanddispersionoftreesinafield.Theresultsof theinventory, the densityofhaof foresttrees, pistachio treesisequal to160.72. Seedling regeneration in the KhorasanRazavi forest (for every tree or shrub in this field, there were 7 regenerations) was superior to that of the Rahimabad jungle. Pistachio forest cover percentage in Rahimabad Mashhad was about 4.54 percent; density was equal to the number of trees per ha 160.7 which is lower than that of the Khajeh forest (Ahani and Jalilvand 2012). In the Khajeh forest plan annual production was 48.33 tons while in Rahimabad is 1.8 ton, Albeit area of Khajeh and Rahimabad forests is 4680 and 1287 hectares respectively (Abkhizgostareshargh Co, 2009). Average number of trees in Khajeh forest in KhorasanRazavi in each base hectare is 190.4 and about 11% percent cover (Tahlilgaranemohit Co 2011).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

BeforAfter

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Regeneration of wild almond trees is accomplished by seeds. There isthe problemofsoil erosion, and sometimes theforest flooris coveredwith sandand rubble. Twokindsforestdamage are: Damagecaused bynon-livingfactorssuch asfiredamage,climatic factors, landfactors(lack of water and a bitoffertilizermaterial) anddamageoflivinganimals, humans andpests and diseases. Forestpestsanddiseases arenowunder severedroughtdamageinthe area.Made inregionsofintensedestruction, poorsoilandlackof foodisnecessary forplant growth. Taken together, thesefactorshave ledtothe foundationofa healthy andvibrantwithhealthybodypartswerenot very big, but if youjusttakethecrownas a factorfordifferentiationhappinessconsider. Inthetrunk ofthehealthof the wholeforest,about79% of thebaseintactandnodamage, 20% ingrade 2,and 1% ingrade 3Healthshaft, andthepistachio, about 80% of Basesafe andnodamage, 19% ingrade 2,and1%weregrade 3Healthtrunk(Hosseini and Ahani, 2012). The dispersion observed in the case in most western and southern Khorasan in was most frequent in the northern direction (Ahani and Mehrabi 2009). Slope, aspect and elevation have significant effect on the characteristics of pistachio forest canopy in Khajeh forest (Khosrojerdi et al. 2009). The northern and eastern slopes have significant effect on the number of seedlings. Also grazing (grazed and none grazed with 100 and 77% respectively) and gradient amplitude (respectively 69, 100 and 90%) had on the viability percentage and survival of seedlings (Khosrojerdi et al. 2001). The meanlevel of tree canopy per hais 230.5m

2(equivalent to 2.3%cover) and for regeneration was 4.8m2

. Density is 34.8 and Basal area mean of each stem is 6.2 cm2. Mean of height is 1.7 m.

Mean of height for seedling and a sapling (regeneration) is 0.6m. A total of about74percentoftreesand65.7percentof theseedlingsinthereservelevelin termsof quality, grade 2areavailablebyindicating thepoorquality ofthe fieldislevel.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The project was financially supported by natural resources and watershed management administration of KhorasanRazavi, Iran. We thank Eng. Dr. ToktamMomeniMoghaddam for supervisory during the project. We appreciate from executed supervisor "Ahmad Banatorogh" in township administration.

REFERENCES

Ahani H, Jalilvand M. 2012. Ecological role of Rahimabad pistachio (Pistaciavera L.) forest of Mashhad in economic status of region, 3st Internatioanl Conference on Climate Change and dendrochronology in Caspian Ecosystems, Iran.2012

Ahani H, Mehrabi M.2009. Environmental value of the mastic tree forest area with emphasis on the densities and distribution patterns BajestanNian. Paper presented at the National Conference on Human Environment and Sustainable Development, Hamedan, 20-21 June 2009

Company of Tahlilgaran e Mohit.2011.Forest Reserve Plan review wild almond Khalilabad.Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Khorasan.

Database management and plantation forestry .2011. Department of Natural Resources and Watershed Khorasan, Iran Hosseini H, ahani M.2012. Evaluation of communication distribution and road building for management of the pistachio forest (Pistaciavera L.)

of KhorasanRazavi, Iran. International Journal of AgriScience Vol. 2(10): 949-956, ISSN: 2228-6322© International Academic Journals, www.inacj.com

IPCC.2012.Forest Regeneration, Special Report on Land Use, Land-Use Change And Forestry. ' Fact Sheet 4.12. Khosrojerdi E, Darroodi H, Namdoost T.2008. Study on grazing and topographic effects on regeneration of forest Pistachio KalatKhajeh,

KhorasanRazavi. Pajouhesh and Sazandegi J 21:38-44 Khosrojerdi E, Darroodi H, Namdoost T.2009. Physiographic factors on quantitative and qualitative characteristics common pistachio tree

(Pistaciavera L) in the forests of Kalat, Khorasan. Iranian J of for Res and poplar 17 (3 (37)):337-347 Matthews JD.1991.Silvicultural Systems. Oxford Science Publications.ISBN 9780198546702 Society of American Foresters. 2013. SILVICULTURE, WEBSITE. USDA.2013.Nomen number: 3042, Place of publication: Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot. sér. 2, 19:109. 1843, Name verified on: 11-Jul-1996 by ARS

Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 12-Jun-2009 Zobairi M.2002. Forest biometry. Tehran, University Press Zobairi M.1994. Forest inventory. Tehran, University Press