Assessing production systems and biodiversity of medicinal plants in agroecosystems of Qazvin province

بوم شناسی کشاورزی

Article 17, Volume 6, Issue 4 - Serial Number 22, December 2014, Pages 880-890   

Document Type: Scientific - Research

DOI: 10.22067/jag.v6i4.45989

Authors

Leyla Tabrizi^{* 1}; Parvin Amini¹; Kouros Khoshbakht²

¹Department of Horticultural Sciences and Green Space Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering, Tehran University of Agriculture and Natural Resources Campus, Karaj, Iran

²Department of Agroecology, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran

Abstract

In order to investigate biodiversity and production of cultivated medicinal plants in agroecosystems of Qazvin province, a study was conducted during year of 2011. Interviews were carried out with farmers by using semi-structured questionnaire to obtain information regarding to biodiversity and medicinal plants production systems in main regions under cultivation of medicinal plants including four regions of Qazvin province (Takestan, Abyek, Qazvin and Alamut). Then agrobiodiversity criteria such as species richness, diversity indices and Sorenson similarity index of medicinal plants were calculated. The results indicated that 36 medicinal plants species were cultivated in Qazvin province in which the most medicinal plants species under cultivation were belonged to Lamiaceae, Asteraceae and Apiaceae families. In addition, around 70% of medicinal plants agroecosystems in studied area were managed based on low input cropping systems. In general, species richness, was 16, 1, 24 and 20 in Takestan, Abyek, Qazvin and Alamut, respectively and also Shannon-Wiener index and species evenness index were 0.47 and 0.28, respectively in Qazvin province. Based on Sorenson similarity index, the highest similarity (0.61) was observed between Takestan and Alamut regions whereas Abyek with Qazvin and also Abyek with Alamut showed the lowest amount of similarity index. In general, results of this study revealed that Qazvin region was superior in most studied criteria compared to other studied regions that could be due to existence of medicinal plant industry in addition to geographical parameters in this region.

Keywords

Low input system; Similarity index; Species diversity; Species richness

References

Brookfield, H., and Stocking, M. 1999. Agrodiversity: definition, description and design. Global Environmental Change 9: 77-80.

Center of Information Technology and Communication of Ministry of Jihad-e- Agricultre (CITCMAJ). 2013. Agricultural statistic database. Vol. 2. Ministry of Jihad-e- Agriculture Pub. Available at Web site http://www.maj.ir (In Persian)

Chao, A., Chazdon, R.L., Colwell, R.K., and Shen, T.J. 2006. Abundance-based similarity indices and their estimation when there are unseen species in samples. Biometrics 62: 361-371.

Connor, D.J. 2001. Optimizing crop diversification. In: J. Nosberger, H.H. Geiger and P.C. Struik (eds.). Crop Science: Progress and Prospects. CABI International, Oxford, UK. p. 191-211.

Ghalegolab Behbahani, A., Khoshbakht, K., Davari, A., Tabrizi, L., Veisi, H., and Alipour, A. 2012. Assessing the effect of Socio-economic factors on Agrobiodiversity in homegardens of Jajrood and Jamabrood in Tehran province (Iran). Advances in Environmental Biology 6: 1708-1715.

IPGRI. 2002. Neglected and Underutilized Plant Species: Strategic Action Plan of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy.

Iran Metrological Organization. 2012. Weather organization of Qazvin. Available at Web site www.qazvinmet.ir (In Persian)

Jackson, L.E., Pascual, U., and Hodgkin, T. 2007a. Utilizing and conserving agrobiodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 121: 196-210.

Jakson, L.E., Pascual, U., Brussaard, L., de Ruiter, P., and Bawa, K.S. 2007b. Preface: Biodiversity in agricultural landscapes: Investing without losing interest. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 121: 193-195.

Khoshbakht, K., Tabrizi, L., and Mahdavi Damghani, A. 2009. Contribution of local agricultural systems in conservation of plant genetic resources in central Alborz region/Iran. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics 92: 153-162.

Koocheki, A., Nassiri Mahallati, M., and Najafi, F. 2004a. The agrobiodiversity of medicinal and aromatic plants in Iran. Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research 2: 208-216. (In Persian with English Summary)

Koocheki, A., Nassiri Mahallati, M., Asgharipoor, M., and Khodashenas, A. (2004b). Biodiversity of fruits and vegetables in Iran. Iranian Journal of Field Crops Research 2: 79-87. (In Persian with English Summary)

Koocheki, A., Nassiri Mahallati, M., Moradi R., and Alizadeh, Y. 2011. Meta analysis of agrobiodiversity in Iran. Journal of Agroecology 1: 1-16. (In Persian with English Summary)

Magurran, A.E. 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. Croom Helm Publisher, London.

Moonen, A.C., and Barberi, P. 2008. Functional biodiversity: An agroecosystem approach. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 127: 7-21.

Nassiri Mahallati, M., Koocheki, A., and Mazaheri, D. 2005. Diversity of crop species in Iran. Dessert 10:33-50. (In Persian with English Summary)

Sharma, P., and Mishra, N.K. 2009. Ethno-medicinal uses and agrobiodiversity of Barmana region in Bilaspur District of Himachal Pradesh, Northwestern Himalaya. Ethnobotanical Leaflets 13: 709-21.

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

Stocking, M. 2001. Agrodiversity: a positive means of addressing land degradation and sustainable rural livelihoods. In: A.J. Conacher (Eds.). Land Degradation. Kluwer, Dordrecht, Netherlands.

Tabrizi, L. 2007. Ecological characteristics of Khorasan thyme (Thymus transcaspicus Klokov.) in natural habitats and evaluation of possibility for domestication under low input cropping systems. PhD dissertation, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. (In Persian with English Summary)

Tabrizi, L., Koocheki, A., Rezvani Moghaddam, P., Nassiri Mahallati, M., and Bannayan, M. 2011. Effect of irrigation and organic manure on Khorasan thyme (Thymus transcaspicus Klokov.). Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 57: 317-326.

Thrupp, L.A. 2004. The importance of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Journal of Crop Improvement 12: 315-337.

Turner, R.K., Paavola, J., Cooper, P., Farber, S., Jessamy, V., and Georgiou, S. 2003. Valuing nature: Lessons learned and future research directions. Ecological Economics 46: 493-510.

Wood, D., and Lenne, J.M. 1999. Agrobiodiversity: characterization, utilization and management. CABI Publishing.