Objective: This phenomenon has emerged as a global threat to grasslands and animals and people dependent on them. The effects of WPE mainly have different effects according to the characteristics and processes of the ecosystem.

Methodology: Recently, the management of woody plants has attracted the attention of researchers, planners and natural resources practitioners. By reviewing the sources related to the phenomenon of woody plant encroachment, this study summarizes the management of its preservation or removal.

Geographical Context: In this regard, the removal of woody plants is used more globally to restore grass cover to rangeland in order to increase the production of forage plants for livestock. However, there is still considerable debate about the effectiveness of different removal programs and no detailed investigation of the effects of removal on ecosystem processes.

Results: The results of the studies have shown that the preservation of expanded woody plants creates functions, goods and services for natural ecosystems that local communities can benefit from this phenomenon. However, removal of woody plants is highly dependent on environmental conditions and characteristics of woody plants. The removal of woody plants depending on the environmental conditions has a less lasting effect, and from an ecological point of view, the effects of their removal are not desirable in the long run.

Conclusion: The summary of the studies shows that the woody plant encroachment is an emerging phenomenon that creates changes in ecosystems due to climatic conditions and climate change and other local influencing factors. In this regard, the preservation of woody plants and the selection of the type of removal method and the response of the ecosystem to it, according to the possible results, should be considered, which requires different management methods to be followed. The structure can be claimed according to the characteristics of wood species and environmental conditions of the dominant type and ecological background and even the socio-economic status of different management methods. In this regard, the occurrence of the phenomenon of woody plant encroachment in the territory of central Zagros pastures requires attention to these components.





Keywords: woody plant encroachment, climate change, land use, removal or retain, territory of rangelands.