Ecological Insights from Spatial Pattern Analysis: Halocnemum strobilaceum and Climacoptera turcomanica in Golestan's Saline and Alkaline Rangelands

Halophytes and other salt-tolerant plants in rangeland ecosystems play an important role in environmental protection and food security. The spatial point pattern analyses of these plants in arid and semi-arid areas provide valuable information about how they affect each other and how we can preserve plant species as well as restore and manage the rangeland ecosystems. This advanced tool to interpret ecological processes can provide valuable information on plant coexistence patterns and biodiversity maintenance in arid and semi-arid regions. This research focuses on the investigation of spatial patterns and interactions occurring with two crucial species (Halocnemum strobilaceum (Pall.) M.Bieb and Climacoptera turcomanica (Litv.) Botsch) characterizing the Inchehboroun rangelands, in Golestan province, Iran. These two salty species dominate the rangeland and influence plant diversity and the relative conservation of rangeland productivity. We used the RTK GPS (Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System) to record the position of each species in the study area during the field survey. Then, the spatial distribution and interactions between H. strobilaceum and Cl. turcomanica were determined by summary statistics methods including univariate and bivariate functions; g(r) and O-ring. The results showed that: 1) both investigated species have aggregated spatial patterns. 2) H. strobilaceum has a significantly positive correlation with Cl. turcomanica. Furthermore, according to the results of this study and the fact that most rangelands in the country are in moderate to poor condition, spatial pattern analyses using statistical functions can be useful in the development of restoration programs and ecological management of rangelands.