Vegetation Cover Dynamics in Semi-Steppe Rangelands of Ardabil Province, Iran

Rangeland vegetation dynamics can be affected by various natural and unnatural factors over time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dynamics of vegetation under the climatic conditions and soil properties. Accordingly, data collection for evaluating vegetation dynamics in rangeland ecosystems of Ardabil province was conducted at three research sites including Moqan winter rangeland, and Nour and Aqdagh Khalkhal summer rangelands in 2009 followed for four years. Vegetation variables were measured using transects and sampling plots. Meanwhile, at the location of each plot, soil moisture was measured at two or three depths of 0-15, 15-30 and 30-45 cm using a Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR). According to the results, in the Nour site, the changes recorded for shrubs such as Onobrychis cornuta L. and forbs were significant (P