Effect of Tourism Activities on Plant Richness and Diversity in Maranjab Desert

Deserts can also suffer from land degradation from a variety of sources. Tourism activities represent a major threat to desert areas. Expansion of tourism and off-road vehicle traffic into desert regions can displace animals and destroy plants, especially since these developments tend to focus around the famous desert like Maranjab desert. To evaluate the effects of tourist activities on the richness and species diversity (Wiener- Shannon Index) in Maranjab region, 150 plots were evaluated. The richness and species diversity were calculated at intervals of 0, 250, 500, 1000, 2000 meters from Maranjab Caravanserai. The results showed that by getting away from the Maranjab Caravanserai, the richness varies from 3 to 37, and the species diversity varies from 0 to 4.06. The density of tourists and the heavy traffic of off-road vehicles make the plants not regenerate. Reducing plant regeneration and changing plant composition and reducing diversity is serious damage of tourism development that hasn’t carrying capacity program

کلیدواژه ها:

Desert ، Development ، Vegetation ، Tourism ، Wiener- Shannon Index