Investigating the ecological viewpoint of Iranian tribes and nomads from a silvopastoral perspective

The foundation of pastureland management is based on the pastoralist life style. Using the science of rangeland management without a deep understanding of the traditional nomadic and rural life results in range management methods with a pseudo-scientific appearance. BoyerAhmad, as the biggest tribe in kohgiluyeh-va-Boyerahmad, settles in all of the geographical regions of the province during different seasons of the year. For investigating the ecological viewpoint of the people of Boyerahmad tribes with respect to the plant species used by their livestock, a floristic list of the plants of the area under study was developed, on the basis of which a questionnaire was designed regarding the plant species used by the livestock and was distributed among the Boyerahmad tribes. Cocran method was applied to determine the sample size. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were measured using Cronbach’s alpha and the contact method, respectively. In the next phase, to validate the accuracy of the ecological viewpoints of Boyerahmad tribes, data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed scientifically using two-way ANOVA (at 95% confidence interval) in a completely randomized design. Generally speaking, the results indicated that even though people’s viewpoint did not exactly match with that of administer, it was relatively similar to it. The fact that the major species identified by people were also similar to those used by the livestock in the experiment indicated that although people of Boyerahmad tribes did not theoretically deal with ecology, they scientifically and practically understand it. Hence, their viewpoints, which are formed over a long time, can be applied as a practical model.