Some chemical characteristics of root, shoot and litter of index species such as Salsola rigida, Artemisia
sieberi and Stipa barbata commonly used in rangeland development projects were evaluated and compared.
Chemical properties of soil under and between the above mentioned species were also studied. For this
purpose, vegetation types of Stipa barbata and Artemisia sieberi - Salsola rigida were selected in Zarand-eSaveh rangelands. Totally, 30 individuals of each species within each type were randomly selected for
shoot, root and litter sampling and chemical analyses. Also, values of N, P, K, C and C/N ratio were
measured in different parts of the species. Results showed that the highest and lowest C/N ratios were
related to Stipa barbata root and Artemisia sieberi shoots, respectively. N and P values of Stipa barbata litter
were the lowest while Artemisia sieberi and Salsola rigida shoots had the highest values of P and N,
respectively. Litter of Salsola rigida and shoot of Artemisia sieberi had the lowest and highest K, respectively.
C/N ratio of A. sieberi soil was lower than rest of the species
