Structure of pollarded oak forest in relation to aspect in Northern Zagros, Iran

Ghahramany, Loghman; Ghazanfari, Hedayat; Fatehi, P; Valipour, Ahmad

doi:10.1007/s10457-017-0102-9

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…For example, villagers in the mountain ranges depend mainly on Q. aegilops fodders for livestock, and harvesting firewood during winter seasons. Apart from that pollarding and harvesting non-wood forest products-for example, oak acorns are common practices (Ghahramany et al 2018). These traditional practices may influence the distribution of the species in the KRI.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping current and potential future distributions of the oak tree (Quercus aegilops) in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Khwarahm

2020

Ecol Process

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Background The oak tree (Quercus aegilops) comprises ~ 70% of the oak forests in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). Besides its ecological importance as the residence for various endemic and migratory species, Q. aegilops forest also has socio-economic values—for example, as fodder for livestock, building material, medicine, charcoal, and firewood. In the KRI, Q. aegilops has been degrading due to anthropogenic threats (e.g., shifting cultivation, land use/land cover changes, civil war, and inadequate forest management policy) and these threats could increase as climate changes. In the KRI and Iraq as a whole, information on current and potential future geographical distributions of Q. aegilops is minimal or not existent. The objectives of this study were to (i) predict the current and future habitat suitability distributions of the species in relation to environmental variables and future climate change scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 2.6 2070 and RCP8.5 2070); and (ii) determine the most important environmental variables controlling the distribution of the species in the KRI. The objectives were achieved by using the MaxEnt (maximum entropy) algorithm, available records of Q. aegilops, and environmental variables. Results The model demonstrated that, under the RCP2.6 2070 and RCP8.5 2070 climate change scenarios, the distribution ranges of Q. aegilops would be reduced by 3.6% (1849.7 km2) and 3.16% (1627.1 km2), respectively. By contrast, the species ranges would expand by 1.5% (777.0 km2) and 1.7% (848.0 km2), respectively. The distribution of the species was mainly controlled by annual precipitation. Under future climate change scenarios, the centroid of the distribution would shift toward higher altitudes. Conclusions The results suggest (i) a significant suitable habitat range of the species will be lost in the KRI due to climate change by 2070 and (ii) the preference of the species for cooler areas (high altitude) with high annual precipitation. Conservation actions should focus on the mountainous areas (e.g., by establishment of national parks and protected areas) of the KRI as climate changes. These findings provide useful benchmarking guidance for the future investigation of the ecology of the oak forest, and the categorical current and potential habitat suitability maps can effectively be used to improve biodiversity conservation plans and management actions in the KRI and Iraq as a whole.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping current and potential future distributions of the oak tree (Quercus aegilops) in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Khwarahm

2020

Ecol Process

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“…The general objective of our study was to examine whether height derived from UAV photogrammetry can predict the DBH of pollarded oak trees, which is challenging due to the strongly altered canopy structures [27,67]. In the following, we first discuss the technical aspects of UAV-based tree height determination and then reflect on the identified DBH~H relationships.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combination of UAV Photogrammetry and Field Inventories Enables Description of Height–Diameter Relationship within Semi-Arid Silvopastoral Systems

Fakhri,

Latifi,

Mohammadi Samani

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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Pollarding oak trees is a traditional silvopastoral technique practiced across wide areas of the northern Zagros mountains, a unique and vast semi-arid forest area with a strong cultural and ecological significance. So far, the effects of pollarding on tree structure in terms of DBH (diameter at breast height)~H (height) relationships within the typical pollarding cycle, which often lasts 4 years, has not been scientifically described. Here, we combine field inventories of DBH with H obtained from photogrammetric UAV flights for the first time to assess DBH~H relationships within this system. We conducted the research at six pollarded forest sites throughout the Northern Zagros. The sampling encompassed all three main species of coppice oak trees. In the case of multi-stem trees, we used the maximum DBH of each tree that formed a unique crown. A linear relationship between UAV and extracted H and the maximum DBH of pollarded trees explained a notable part of the variation in maximum DBH (R2 = 0.56), and more complex and well-known nonlinear allometries were also evaluated, for which the accuracies were in the same range as the linear model. This relationship proved to be stable across oak species, and the pollarding stage had a notable effect on the DBH~H relationship. This finding is relevant for future attempts to inventory biomass using remote sensing approaches across larger areas in northern Zagros, as well as for general DBH estimations within stands dominated by pollarded, multi-stem coppice structures.

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Structure of pollarded oak forest in relation to aspect in Northern Zagros, Iran

Cited by 2 publications

References 24 publications

Mapping current and potential future distributions of the oak tree (Quercus aegilops) in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Mapping current and potential future distributions of the oak tree (Quercus aegilops) in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Combination of UAV Photogrammetry and Field Inventories Enables Description of Height–Diameter Relationship within Semi-Arid Silvopastoral Systems

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