OICC Press Journal of Rangeland Science 2423-642X 15 4 2025 09 14 The effect of tree planting on native vegetation in the dust center of southwest Iran 1 8 10.57647/j.jrs.2025.1504.36 EN Mehri Dinarvand Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran Sajad Alimahmodi Sarab Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran Seyed Abdolhossein Arami Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran Marzieh Ghomeshion Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran Mohammad Fayaz Research Institute of Forest and Rangelands, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran Kohzad Haidari Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. Gorgan, Iran Journal Article 2025 09 14 In order to dust control, 26,000 ha of the dusty center of southwest Iran were stabilized by planting  Prosopis juliflora in Khuzestan province, Iran from 2015 to 2021. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of tree planting on the richness and diversity of the local plant species and identify the appropriate irrigation methods for tree plantations and increasing the native vegetation cover. In this research, the richness and diversity of plant species and the amount of vegetation production were investigated. During the field survey, a total of 420 fixed plots were established for both tree planting and control sites (without tree planting) in seven areas of Bagan, Hofireh, Shoaimit Faleh, Shoamit Mandil, Sharifiieh, Seyed Sharaf, Mosalemieh, in Ahvaz County, Iran. To achieve the research goal, the plant sampling was first done in both sites within each area. Data were collected for species diversity, species richness, species evenness, dominance and Simpson's and Shannon's diversity indices. An ANOVA (Analysis of variance) was made between seven locations and the T-test was used for comparisons between two sites (tree plantation area and control) within each location. The results of the T-test showed significant differences for all diversity indices between tree plantation and control sites in all areas except for the Mosalemieh. Results showed that irrigation coupled with rainfall had an effective role in increasing plant species diversity of the local vegetation in the deserts and the restoration of fragile pastures. It was concluded that all areas had plenty of native seed banks, and if a suitable substrate is provided for these reserves and enough water is available, the native vegetation could be established.