Plants Biodiversity and Canopy Coverage at the Edge of Main Communications Network in Hyrcanian Forests

To investigate the plants biodiversity and canopy coverage on cut and fill slopes of Lat Talar forest roads in Hyrcanian zone, the systematic randomize sampling method with 60 parallelogram shape plots was used. Within each plot the herbaceous plants and regeneration of woody species were recognized and their canopy coverage was recorded in percentage. Species similarity and biodiversity was estimated according to Jaccard, Shannon, Brillouin and Simpson indices. Results showed that the canopy coverage of herbaceous plants and regeneration on cut and fill slopes were 7.2% and 28.4%, respectively. Rubus hyrcanus L. had the most canopy coverage at the edge of forest road. 14 species were common between cut and fill slopes, therefore Jaccard index was obtained 0.74. Plants biodiversity on fill slopes and control plots was more than cut slopes (p<0.05). Canopy coverage on cut slopes with angles of 45-55 was more than angels of 55-65.

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