Phonological effects on chemical composition of essential oil of Satureja hortensis L.

Background : Summer savory is an annual grass plant, with a branched stem with the length of 10 to 30 cm that is distinguishable from the similar species due to having grayish green appearance and its leaves are narrow and long. In recent years, the anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antispasmodic, stomach invigorator and digestion facilitator characteristics of this species have been proved. Materials and Methods: This study aimed to examine the type and amount of essence compounds in the summer savory was performed in two vegetative and reproductive phonological stages. To identify the amount of plant essence components a total of 30 samples were randomly taken from Shater Abad heights in two vegetative and flowering phonological stages and its essence was produced by Clevenger apparatus. GC/MS was used to identify essence constituents. In all spectra given by GC/MS, the Kovats index was calculated for each peak by the pattern of exiting the normal alkenes and spectrum inhibition index. Results: The total amount of plant essence in two phonological stages before flowering (vegetative stage) and after flowering (reproductive stage) was 0/5 and 0/4 percent (w/v), respectively. The number of compounds identified in the vegetative stage was 27 compounds and for reproductive stages was 19 compounds upon which nearly 98% of plant essence were identified. Conclusion: The results show that there is no significant difference in both vegetative and reproductive stages in terms of the type of main compounds of the summer savory essence, although the relatively large changes are seen in two phonological stages listed in terms of the numbers of identified compounds. Also the results obtained from this study showed that three main compounds of the summer savory essence are Thymol, gamma- Terpinene and Carvacrol, respectively, which their anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and antioxidant characteristics completely confirm the medicinal property and therapeutic effects of essence of this plant

Introducing Conservatism Coefficient and determining it for ground flora in middle Zagros Forest, (Case study: Kakareza Forest, Lorestan province)

Natural and anthropogenic disturbances result to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem stability decline. Metrics that aggregate more qualitative information on individual species and overall community composition could be useful to better assess factors such as the conditions of natural areas, their conservation value and the impact of human disturbance. This is the first study that determine conservatism coefficient for vascular plants in Lorestan province. The standard modified multi-scale Whittaker plots were used for vegetation sampling. A panel of botanists and ecologists were asked to assign conservatism coefficient to each native species based on their knowledge and previous experiences about plant species sensitivity to disturbances and fidelity to a specific habitat by using floristic list. Results showed that conservatism coefficient were accepted by botanists and ecologists and can be used in the next researches for identifying forests conservative values. Based on the results of 57.67 % of plants were ranked fell into the first category (1-3), while 32.27 % fell into second category (4-6), approximately 8.46% of plants were ranked into third  category (7-8) and finally 1.58 % of plants were ranked in the forth category (9-10). Astragalus leonardii Maassoumi, A. longirostratus Pau. and Bunium luristanicum Rech. f. have the most values of conservatism coefficient were ranked fell into the forth category. Based on the results and with regard to species conservation status, these species can be introduced as an indicator of intact oak forest. Determining CC in the natural intact regions and comparing it with other regions is useful for evaluation of restoration programs succession

Plant communities change under different physiographic conditions and soil properties in the central Zagros forests

Different physiographic conditions and soil properties have resulted in the establishment of different plant communities in central Zagros forests. This study aimed to differentiate these plant communities by means of detecting the species similarity and relations between understory plant vegetation, physiographic conditions and soil properties. Sampling was conducted using 21 modified multiscale Whittaker plots that were randomly distributed amongst the vegetation types. In each plot, species name and canopy cover as well as physiographic data were recorded for each individual tree, and soil specimens were sampled. The relationships between understory vegetation and environmental variables were investigated by means of two way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) classification method as well as two ordination approaches, including detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The results of ANOVA, ordination, and classification in segregation of vegetation types showed that the distribution of vegetation types, species and also ecological species groups in central Zagros is affected by altitude, slope, geographical aspects, and the amount of soil organic C and N. Moreover, the results of vegetation classification segregated local vegetation into three ecological groups, including 12 indicator species. These results were in line with the ordination results. This study showed a high resemblance between the results of vegetation classification and ordination in accordance to the extent of study area (landscape scale) and random selection of sampling units at the physiognomic types and the ecotones

The effect of main ecological factors on essence yield percent of myrtus communis in different forest sites of Lorestan province

مقدمه: مورد Myrtus communis درختچه همیشه سبزی است که از خانواده Myrtaceae می‌باشد. در نظر گرفتن ویژگی‌های محل رویش و موقعیت گیاه در طبیعت از عمده عواملی است که می‌تواند بر میزان اسانس و مواد موثره گیاه تاثیر زیادی داشته باشد. بحث و نتیجه‌گیری: رویشگاه کرکی کمترین میزان تولید اسانس را در بین رویشگاه های مورد استان لرستان به خود اختصاص داده است. همچنین در مجموع جهت جنوب غربی با جهت‌های شمالی و جنوبی به لحاظ میزان اسانس تفاوت معنی‌داری نشان داد. یافته‌ها: نتایج حاصل از ضریب همبستگی پیرسون، وجود ارتباط مستقیم معنی‌دار بین ارتفاع از سطح دریا و درصد بازده اسانس (358/0r= و049/0p= ) و همچنین ارتباط معکوس بین میزان سدیم خاک و درصد بازده اسانس (405/0r = و 027/0p = ) را نشان داد. بین درصد بازده اسانس در رویشگاه‌های مختلف و همچنین جهات جغرافیایی مختلف اختلاف معنی‌داری مشاهده گردید. مواد و روش‌ها: به منظور بررسی تاثیر عوامل اصلی اکولوژیکی موثر بر میزان اسانس درختچه مورد، ازچندین رویشگاه اصلی مورد دراستان لرستان نمونه برداری به عمل آورده و از هر منطقه 40 گرم برگ خشک اسانس گیری شد و درصد بازده اسانس برگ های مناطق مختلف به دست آمد. علاوه بر آن مولفه های اصلی فیزیوگرافیک هر کدام از رویشگاه ها (شیب، جهت دامنه، ارتفاع از سطح دریا) نیز اندازه گیری شد. از بین عوامل اکولوژیک قابل اندازه گیری نیز عناصر سدیم، پتاسیم، منیزیوم و کلسیم و میزان اسیدیته و شوری خاک مورد اندازه گیری قرار گرفت