Assessing structural and functional attributes of rangeland ecosystem assist mangers to eva‎luate the effectiveness of their management practices. This study aimed to eva‎luate the range condition of Steppe rangelands of Muteh wildlife refuge in Isfahan province using Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) and assessing some soil quality characteristics. Four places with different protection levels were selected in Mouteh Steppe area including an exclosure with no grazing, national park with wild herbivores, a peripheral protected area, where both livestock and wild herbivores present, and an adjacent grazing free area where wild herbivores were absent. The structure and function of these range places were studied using LFA and some soil quality indicators. Three transects with 30 m length were established randomly in each range place along the overall slope. The length and width of all the ecological patch types and the length of inter-patch were measured along the established transects. Eleven soil surface indicators with three replications were measured in patch and inter-patch areas to obtain the stability, infiltration and nutrient cycling indices of the range places. Ten soil samples from soil surface (0-10 cm depth) were collected in each range places randomly and soil properties including texture (clay, silt and sand content), organic carbon content (OC), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) of water-stable aggregates, bulk density (BD), total nitrogen (N), and available phosphorus (P). Results indicated that structural and functional attributes of exclosure and the area grazed only by wildlife are in better condition compared to the free grazing area and the area grazed by both wildlife and livestock. For instance, the total patch length, infiltration and nutrient cycling indices of exclosure and the area grazed only by wildlife were significantly differed from the free grazing area and the area grazed by both wildlife and livestock (P > 0.05). The results showed that soil quality characteristics of exclosure such as OC, pH, EC, MWD, GMD, N, P, and BD differed significantly compared to the free grazed area (P > 0.05). Overall, results highlighted the importance of protected area to maintain the structre and function staus of rangeland ecosystem in this area.

حسين بشري، مصطفي تركش اصفهاني

محمدرضا مصدقي

عليرضا موسوي، محسن سليماني