An assessment of vegetation structure for the rangelands under grazed different seasons in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of different grazing system and environmental variables on plant species distribution in highlands of eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Eight range sites, two of which belong to season-long and the others belong to transhumant grazing system, were selected. The vegetation was sampled using the line intercept method. All data were performed Redundancy analysis (RDA) using CANOCO software, version 4.5. Monte Carlo permutation tests were used to determine the significance of environmental variables. Species distribution was located in separate groups depending on grazing season on ordination diagram. Species distribution produced strong correlations with grazing season and bulk density, pH, CaCO3, Ca, P and Na properties of the soil (p<0.05). The results indicated that grazing seasons displayed an important role at distribution of species and also soil properties were important at these rangelands. Hence, it will be better if traditional upland-lowland (transhumant) grazing systems improve with respect to grazing time and stocking intensity for sustainable use of semi arid highland rangelands.