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Interaction between climate and management on beta diversity components of vegetation in relation to soil properties in arid and semi-arid oak forests, Iran

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An Erratum to this article was published on 04 January 2019

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the interaction between regions with different climatic conditions (arid vs. semi-arid) and management (protected vs. unprotected) on the turnover and nestedness of vegetation in relation to physical, chemical and biological properties of soils in the Ilam Province of Iran. In each of the two regions, we sampled 8 sites (4 managed and 4 unmanaged sites) within each of which we established 4 circular plots (1000 m2) that were used to investigate woody species, while two micro-plots (1 m×1 m) were established in each 1000-m2 plot to analyze herbaceous species. In each sample unit, we also extracted three soil samples (0–20 cm depth) for measuring soil properties. The results indicated that the interaction between region and conservational management significantly affected the percent of canopy cover of Persian oak (Quercus brantii Linddl), soil respiration, substrate-induced respiration, as well as beta and gamma diversities and turnover of plant species. The percent of oak canopy cover was positively correlated with soil silt, electrical conductivity, available potassium, and alpha diversity, whereas it was negatively correlated with plant turnover. In addition, plant turnover was positively related to available phosphorus, while nestedness of species was positively related to organic carbon and total nitrogen. According to these results, we concluded that physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of limited ecological niche generally influenced plant diversity. Also, this study demonstrated the major contribution of the beta diversity on gamma diversity, especially in semi-arid region, because of the higher heterogeneity of vegetation in this area.

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Change history

  • 04 January 2019

    In this Erratum, we correct the order of the first name and the last name of all authors in Journal of Arid Land and the correction is as follows: Mehdi HEYDARI, Fatemeh AAZAMI, Marzban FARAMARZI, Reza OMIDIPOUR, Masoud BAZGIR, David POTHIER, Bernard PR��VOSTO.

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Acknowledgements

Ilam University is kindly acknowledged for its financial support for this research work. We would like to thank Mr. Masoud HAMIDI for his guidance in soil analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Science, College of Agriculture, Ilam University, Ilam, 6939177111, Iran

    Heydari Mehdi & Aazami Fatemeh

  2. Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, College of Agriculture, Ilam University, Ilam, 6939177111, Iran

    Faramarzi Marzban

  3. Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, College of Natural Resources and Earth Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, 14536-33143, Iran

    Omidipour Reza

  4. Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Ilam University, Ilam, 6939177111, Iran

    Bazgir Masoud

  5. Department of Wood and Forest Sciences, Centre for Forest Research, Laval University, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada

    Pothier David

  6. Irstea-National Research Institute of Science and Technology for Environment and Agriculture, Aix-en-Provence, 13128, France

    Prévosto Bernard

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Mehdi, H., Fatemeh, A., Marzban, F. et al. Interaction between climate and management on beta diversity components of vegetation in relation to soil properties in arid and semi-arid oak forests, Iran. J. Arid Land 11, 43–57 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-018-0024-z

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