Diversity of the Orchard Species in Iran: A Case Study of Khorasan Province

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• A Koocheki
• R Deihimfard
• R Mirzaei Talarposhti
• M Kheirkhah

10.22067/gsc.v12i2.39142

Abstract

Agrobiodiversity is an issue that has been considered for the last decade. There are few reports on diversity of orchard species in Iran and some available reports have not mentioned the relevant indices and analysis results. In the current study, based upon data collected from 29 provinces of Iran along with 23 counties of Khorasan provinces, a comprehensive analysis was made and different diversity indices such as Shanon- Weaver, Evenness index, Margalof richness index as well as two dominance indices including Sympson and Berger-Parker were calculated. The results indicated that Kerman, Fars and Khorasan provinces cover 40% of orchard areas in the country. Species richness in all provinces was relatively high but the evenness index was not so (average evenness for all provinces is 0.55). Therefore, in some provinces such as Boshehr and Kerman, species dominance is observed due to Date and Pistachio, respectively. Also, Stone fruits among Khorasan orchards provided the highest richness and diversity. The highest area of orchards in Khorasan are belonged to nuts including Pistachio, Almond, Walnut and Oleaster. Kashmar district has the highest orchards area in Khorasan province. According to the Shanon-Weaver index, the highest and lowest diversity were observed at Nahbandan- Birjand and Fariman counties. Results also indicated that the Berger-Parker dominance index is highest at Fariman and Shirvan districts of Khorasan because of apple and grape species dominance.

Keywords

• Agrobiodiversity
• Dominance index
• Shanon-weaver index
• Orchards

20.1001.1.20081472.1393.12.2.3.8

---

References

1- بی نام. 1376. جایگاه ایران در کشاورزی جهان. جلد اول رهیافتی برای برنامه ایران 1400. نشریه شماره 04/76.

2- آمارنامه کشاورزی. 1382. محصولات زراعی و باغی. جلد اول. وزرات جهاد کشاورزی. معاونت برنامه ریزی و اقتصادی.

3- کوچکی، ع.، م. نصیری محلاتی، غ. جهان‌بین و ا. زارع فیض آبادی. 1382. تنوع نظام‌های زراعی ایران. مجله پژوهش و سازندگی. 17 (2). 83-70.

4- کوچکی، ع.، م. نصیری محلاتی، غ. جهان‌بین و ا. زارع فیض آبادی. 1383. تنوع واریته‌های گیاهان زراعی در ایران. بیابان. 9 ( 1): 67-49.

5- کوچکی، ع. 1384. تنوع زیستی گیاهان زراعی. مجموعه مقالات فرهنگستان علوم. 3: 130-95.

6- کوچکی، ع.، پ. رضوانی مقدم، م. فارسی، ع. مهدوی دامغانی، ب. کامکار و م. برزگر. 1384. تنوع زیستی کشاورزی. انتشارات دانشگاه فردوسی مشهد. 570 صفحه.

7- نصیری محلاتی، م.، ع. کوچکی و د. مظاهری. 1384. تنوع گونه‌های زراعی در ایران. بیابان. 10 (1): 33-50.

8- Armsworth, P. R., B. E. Kendall, and F. W. Davis, 2004. An introduction to biodiversity concepts for environmental economists. Resource and Energy Economics. 26(2):115-136.

9- Brookfield, H., and C. Padoch. 1994. Appreciating agrobiodiversity: A look at the dynamism and diversity of indigenous farming practices. Environment. 36:, 7-45.

10- Falco, S. D., and C. Perrings. 2005. Crop biodiversity, risk management and the implications of agricultural assistance. Ecological Economics. 55: 459-466.

11- Hawksworth, D. L. 1995. Biodiversity- Measurement and Estimation. Chapman and Hall. London.

12- Hengeveld, R. 1996. Measuring ecological biodiversity. Biodiversity Letters. 3:58-65.

13- Magurran, A. E. 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. London: Croom Helm.

14- MEA. 2005. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report, a Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Malaysia and U.S.

15- Meng, E. C., M. Smale S., Rozelle, H. Ruifa, and J. Haung. 1999. The cost of wheat diversity in china. American Agricultural Economics Association. Annual Meeting, August 8-11, 1999, Nashville, Tennessee.

16- Mozumder, P. and R. P. Berrens. 2007. Inorganic fertilizer use and biodiversity risk: An empirical investigation. Ecological Economics 62:538-543.

17- Pimm, S. L., G. J. Russell, J. L. Gitleman, and T. M. Brooks. 1995. The future of biodiversity. Science. 269 (5222): 347-350.

18- Smale, E., Meng, J. P. Brennan, and R. Hu. 2003. Determinants of spatial diversity in modern wheat: examples from Australia and China. Agricultural Economics. 28: 13-26.

19- Stocking, M. 2001. Agrobiodiversity: A positive means of addressing land degradation and sustainable rural livelihoods. In: Conacher, A. J. (ed.), Land Degradation. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp: 1-16.

20- Tengberg, A. J., E. Jones, R. Kiome, and M. Stocking. 1998. Appling the concept of agrodiversity to indigenous soil and water conservation practices in eastern Kenya. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment. 70: 259-272.