The effect of altitude on diversity and Species Importance Value (SIV) of herbaceous species in forests of Kabirkouh, Ilam

This study aimed to investigate the effect of altitude on diversity and Species Importance Value (SIV) of herbaceous species in forests of Kabirkouh, Ilam province. For this purpose, an area of 300 ha was chosen from these forests. The area was divided in to three altitudinal classes (700-1000, 1000-1300, 1300-1600 m a.s.l.). 63 sampling plots were taken in the studied area using the minimal area method. In order to estimate herbaceous cover, the percentage of herbaceous species were recorded according to Van der Marel criterion. Species richness index (R=S), the Shannon- Wiener’s diversity and the Smith- Wilson’s evenness indices were used to calculate the herbaceous species diversity. Determination of correlation between biodiversity indices and altitude was done using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The results of this study showed that the altitude had a significant effect on the diversity and richness of herbaceous species, and there was a negative correlation between these indices and altitude. The highest species diversity and richness index were in the middle altitudinal class. The results also indicated that altitude had no significant effect on the evenness of herbaceous species. In addition, the shape of the curve of Species Importance Value of herbaceous species in all three altitudinal classes was a lognormal distribution.