Study of Essential Oil Compounds from Three Iranian Artemisia Species and the Implications on Livestock Grazing Behavior

Aims One of the herbal indices that effects on the livestock grazing behavior is the herbal compounds including the essential oils, so the aim of the present study is the comparison of three Artemisia species in terms of the composition of essential oils coincident and the relationship between livestock grazing time from these three plant species. Materials and Methods Three Artemisia species (Artemisia sieberi Bess., Artemisia kermanensis Podl., and Artemisia khorassanica podl.) in the natural from habitats with similar conditions were studied. Five plant stands were selected randomly from each species and the essential oils were obtained by SDE of air-dried samples and the essential oil were analyzed by GC-MS. Findings About 88% of essential oil compounds in these three Artemisia species were common and Artemisia kermanensis Podl. had more essential oil percentage (98.47%) and Artemisia sieberi had the lowest essential oil percentage (73.21%) while the rate of grazing on the Artemisia sieberi Bess. was higher compared to two other species in the same vegetative stage. Also, 6% of the compounds were observed only in the Artemisia kermanensis species, which is probably the presence of these compounds are the reason for the lack of feeding by the livestock of this species. Conclusion The selection of livestock for grazing of these three species to be highly relevant to their essential oil compounds, although the amount of these compounds has decreased in the third phenological stage, preventing livestock feeding on these species in the first and second stage of vegetation. Livestock grazing planning based on essential oil combinations can be a new horizontal in rangeland management. It seems the biochemical defense in the plants with essential oil is a way to combat animal grazing.