فهرست مطالب ghodratollah heydari

This study explores the components of good governance in the management of rangelands in Iran, as perceived by natural resources experts. The quality of governance significantly influences the success of executive programs related to the protection and management of natural resources, especially rangelands. Assessing the indicators of good governance in rangeland management is crucial for achieving goals such as increased livestock production and enhancing economic efficiency. The study aims to identify the main components of good governance and assess their impact on rangeland management projects.

Utilizing a descriptive (non-experimental) and correlational approach, this research employed structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between variables. A questionnaire, validated through expert opinion, assessed the perspectives of 70 experts across 19 provinces in Iran. Six independent variables (participation, accountability, responsibility, law-oriented and justice, transparency, efficiency and effectiveness) were investigated concerning their impact on rangeland restoration and management projects.

The findings reveal that respondents considered responsibility, participation, law-oriented and justice, transparency, and efficiency and effectiveness as significant factors affecting the success of rangeland restoration and management projects. The results indicate that the responsiveness factor was perceived as the most crucial, followed by participation, responsibility, law-oriented and justice, transparency, and efficiency and effectiveness. The coefficient of explanation (R2) demonstrated that these components collectively explained a substantial percentage of the variance in rangeland restoration and management projects.

The study concludes that transparency, responsibility, efficiency, and effectiveness play pivotal roles in the success of rangeland restoration and management projects. A commitment to transparency in implementation, efficiency in performance, accountability for actions, and user participation in decision-making processes are essential for effective governance. The results provide valuable insights for policymakers and practitioners involved in rangeland management in Iran.

Ecotourism in addition to creating employment and increasing income prevents the outflow of human and material capital from rural areas; which, of course, has positive and negative effects. Then, according many limitations and problems in the study area, including the lack of effective employment opportunities, high unemployment and low incomes, the study of socio-economic effects of ecotourism as the most important dimension of the effects of ecotourism can take an effective step in solving these problems. So, the purpose of this study is to investigate the direct and indirect positive or negative socio-economic and environmental effects of ecotourism on local communities.

The study area is a mountainous watershed, called Balade-Nour, located in the Mazandaran Province, Nour city and in 55 kilometers from the main road of Haraz (Amol-Tehran). The summer grazing lands rangelands of this area are based on communally-council ownership. The research method is based on descriptive-analytical method. Survey data is collected from the sample heads of households and the Islamic Council of the villages. The pre-test questionnaire was used and the reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) was calculated. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by consulting professors and experts. The main variables were determined and the final questionnaires were completed by 214 people of local communities and 9 villages by random sampling method. In these questionnaires, various variables were examined, including socio-economic characteristics of the pastoralists, technical characteristics of the rangelands and other related questions affecting the empowerment of local communities using path way analysis method. Path analysis method is commonly used in investigating the direct and indirect effects of independent variables on the dependent variable. In order to investigate the relationships between the latent variables of the research on each other, the structural equation modeling method has been used.

The results showed that the highest frequency (49.2%) of stakeholders had 50-75 years old. Most respondents (81.8%) had undergraduate degree (ill educated and illetrate). The lowest frequency (0.5%) belonged to people with master's degree or higher. Independent variables explained about 69% of the total variance of ecotourism effects. The sum of direct and indirect effects of social (0.43) and economic (0.37) indicators were the most influential positive factors on the evaluation of ecotourism effects, respectively. Then, work experience, income, and environmental factors had a negative impact on local communities, respectively. Therefore, the social factor as the most important and influential variable of the structural model of analysis both in terms of quantity and in terms of paths of influence reflects the good feeling of the local community about the arrival of tourists and the formation of social connections between people. In addition, have a good effect on the economic situation of the region, especially solving the problem of seasonal unemployment. Hence the social effects and consequently the positive effects that ecotourism has on the livelihood diversity of local communities is so effective that it increases the participation and social cohesion of individuals to work together for the benefit of ecotourism.

According to the results, social index are the main necessary factor causes empowerment the local communities of the studied region. Improving the quality of life, increasing public awareness of the value of rangelands, increasing familiarity with social rights and interest in ancient cultures and traditions, more village fame, encourage and develop people's cultural and social participation, disseminate and strengthen indigenous and local culture, reduce migration, creating opportunities for rural women to work in side jobs, familiarity of tourists and local people with different types of cultural tourism are operational and scientific solutions to encourage ranchers to provide more participation.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers to education and extension in management of rangelands of Mazandaran province. The research is of applied type and field research in Mazandaran Province. Population consisted of all Extension and rangeland management experts in 12 counties of Mazandaran province that in relation to the expert’s population in each of the counties related to livestock and rangeland activities through random and available sampling method, the statistical sample of the study was selected that the sample size of 110 people was obtained using Morgan formula. The main research tool included a questionnaire. Its validity (form and content) was confirmed based on the collective opinion of experts from Jihad Agriculture, Natural Resources Management, Environment Organization, Rangelands and Forests Organization in Mazandaran Province, faculty members of Department of Agricultural Extension and Education and Rangeland of Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha was used to estimate the reliability (0.798). The reliability was found to be acceptable. The results of factor analysis showed that: 1) Economic-supportive barriers; (2) infrastructural-technical barriers; (3) rangeland management system barriers; (4) socio-cultural barriers; (5) Political-institutional barriers were the five barriers to application education and extension in management of rangelands. These factors explained 74.66 percent of the total variance. Finally, the proposed research model in rangeland ranchers and rangeland brokers (policy makers) has provided solutions to reduce barriers and problems in extension rangeland management. Keep up with the research results development of the use of appropriate extension methods such as training and visit approach and participatory approach and prioritization of training and extension needs in the rangeland management department of the province to disseminate information and practical skills among rangeland users, integrating knowledge and indigenous skills with new technologies in conservation Recommended from pastures and livestock production.

Rangeland's development will not be possible without the participation of Ranchers. Today, network social capital can control the participatory behavior of users in the protection of rangelands and their customary boundaries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the social capital of the network among ranchers with different levels of participation in conservation projects (biological projects including seeding and enclosure; and biomechanics or banking projects) of the customary rangelands of Dehgolan city. The research method is descriptive-analytical based on a questionnaire, and its statistical population includes 275 users of rangelands in 10 conventional areas of the region based on the audit list. The samples were selected randomly, and 160 rangeland operators were selected using Cochran's formula. To determine the validity of the questionnaire, a panel of experts was used, which included professors and technical experts of the General Administration of Kurdistan Province. Cronbach's alpha values for "common goals of rangers with local networks" and "common goals of rangers with government networks" were calculated as 0.80 and 0.82, respectively. The results of the Helmert contrast approach showed that beneficiaries who were permanently involved in rangeland conservation projects had more common goals with local and government networks than beneficiaries who were temporarily involved in rangeland conservation projects. The results showed that using the social capital capacity of the network can change the participatory approach of users to implement rangeland conservation projects by strengthening the cohesion of local communities.

Soil seed bank has an important role in vegetation restoration following cessation of disturbance. In this study, the soil seed bank richness and diversity were investigated in semi-steppic rangeland with a history of land conversion into cultivation in Charmahal-Bakhtiari province. Land-use changes were identified in grassland and shrubland and then were classified into four groups according to the time since abandonment including < 5, 5-15, 15-25 and > 25 years. Aspect was considered in each group. Soil was sampled and seed bank was identified using seedling germination method in glasshouse. Then, seed bank richness and diversity indices were calculated. Results showed that in seed bank the number of perrenilas was greater than annuals. In both grassland and shrubland time since abandonment significantly influenced the soil seed bank richness and diversity. In grassland soil seed bank richness and diversity decreased with time of abandonment but in area with more than 25 yrs of abandonment seed abnk richness and diversity significantly increased. Aspect significantly affected both seed bank richness and diversity in shrubland. North slpoe showed fluctuation in seed bank richness and diversity during abandonment while an increase was found in west slope and a reduction in south and east slopes. In both sites the soil seed bank indices significantly increased shortly after abandonment (<5 yrs) but seed bank richness and diversity showed resilient in >25 yrs in grassland and >15 yrs in shrubland.

Some of the environmental problems in each region are affected by the tourist’s behaviors, and to solve these problems, it is necessary to identify the factors that affect the environmental behavior. In this regard, the present study investigates the relationship between the variables of knowledge, attitude and perception with the variable of environmental behavior in the Miankaleh area of Behshahr. The research method is survey and the data collection tool is a questionnaire. The questionnaire questions were designed based on the Likert scale of five options and its reliability was calculated through Cronbach's alpha test. The statistical population of Miankaleh region included 340 visitors, which was determined using Cochran formula, the sample size was 181 people. Data analysis was performed using Smart-PLS and SPSS software. Findings from structural equation modeling in Miankaleh region showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the independent variables of knowledge, attitude and perception with the dependent variable of environmental behavior. Perception variable with a path coefficient of 0.814 had the most direct effect on environmental behavior and the path coefficient of two variables of attitude and knowledge were 0.329 and 0.467, respectively. The results of correlation test showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between environmental knowledge, attitude and perception with environmental behavior, which among the three variables studied, perception with a correlation coefficient of 0.455 has the highest correlation with environmental behavior. For two variables, knowledge and attitude were obtained with a correlation coefficient of 0.209 and 0.237, respectively. In general, it can be said that the studied variables reinforce environmentally responsible behaviors and promote responsibility towards the environment.

The economic and social values of animal husbandry and rangeland management in rural areas are important factors for the continuation and maintenance of traditional livestock husbandry. This study aimed to identify social, economic, managerial, and environmental factors affecting traditional livestock husbandry in Nodoushan rangeland in Yazd province. Results of the Friedman test and prioritizing each of the items in the social factor showed that the immigration of villagers to the city and the depletion of labor from the village was the first influential factor with an average of 7.87 and the tendency of young laborers to non-agricultural jobs was the second influential factor with an average of 6.39. Important economic factors were lower productivity of traditional livestock husbandry compared with other economic activities, especially in non-agricultural sectors as the first influential factor with an average of 9.48, and the high cost of shepherds' wages and rangeland rent was ranked as the second influential factor with an average of 9.35. Regarding the managerial factor, the lack of fodder due to overgrazing was considered as the first influential factor with an average of 9.02 and the neglect of villagers' insurance was the second influential factor with an average of 8.43. Regarding the environmental factor, drought and forage shortage were the first effective factors with an average of 5.19 and fodder deficiency due to climate change (frost, heat, pests and diseases) was the second effective factor with an average of 3.92.

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the beneficiaries' economic recession in the BolbanAbad Rangelands. The statistical population of this study was 400 beneficiaries in the BolbanAbad Rangelands. The sample size of this study was determined to be 196 rangeland beneficiaries by using Krejcie and Morgan table. A random sampling method was used to select the samples. The tool used to collect data and information was a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by rangeland experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22. The results of Spearman correlation test showed that economic factors had the highest correlation with the beneficiaries' economic recession. In addition, the results of factor analysis showed that among the economic factors, the lack of job diversification with a coefficient of 0.912; among the management factors, the limitation of credit transfer to low-income beneficiaries to reduce the income dependency with a coefficient of 0.885; among the environmental factors, the traditional livestock vulnerability due to drought and forage deficiency with a coefficient of 0.893; and among the social factors, the distrust between the beneficiaries in collaborative activities with a coefficient of 0.910 had the most impact on the beneficiaries' economic recession. Also, the results of the path analysis showed that the most direct and total effects were related to economic factors and the most indirect effect was related to management factors.

This study was conducted in the rural allotments of arid and desert rangelands of Nodoushan, Yazd. Nine ecologically similar allotments were selected in the area and one herd was selected in each of the allotments.The study livestock were Nodoushan pure goats with an average number of 230 goats in each herd. The objective of this study was to determine the income, cost and benefits of the Nodoushan goat. The results showed that the highest present expenditures were related to the manual feeding of livestock and shepherd wages. The highest income was related to livestock, milk and yogurt sales, respectively. In all nine allotments, the costs were higher than the incomes, leading to a negative net income in each of the allotments. Valuation using present net value based on 15,18 and 20 percent discount rates in 2015,2016 and 2017 showed that net present value and benefit-cost ratio were less than zero and one, respectively, in all the three years. Thus, traditional animal husbandry in the study areas is not economically profitable.

Traditional animal husbandry has the highest share in the exploitation of the country rangelands. Although more than half of the forage required for livestock is supplied from sources other than grazing in rangelands, most pastoralists believe that traditional livestock husbandry is not economically justified in Iran. Therefore, the current study is a step towards economic analysis of animal husbandry activity, which is dependent on the forage of summer rangelands of Sajjadroodwatershed in Babol during a season of the year. Data related to economic analysis was completed based on a survey method and a questionnaire. The statistical population consisted of three allotments with range management plans and three allotments without any range plans. Using the Cochran formula, 82 ranchers were selected as needed samples for this research. In this study, the net profits of ranchers from livestock activities and other socio-economic factors affecting ranchers' income were investigated. The results showed that the profit/cost ratio of traditional husbandry activity was 1.41 and had economic justification. However, there were no significant differences between the profitability of the rangelands with and without plans and between the ranchers with small, medium and large numbers of livestock. In 2016, average net profits per head of each livestock in rangelands with and without plans were 29477.63 and 22130 Rials, respectively that were not statistically significant. According to the results, it was suggested that the best way to improve pastoralists' economic power was providing subsidized forage, low-interest banking facilities, changing in livestock breeding, and establishing pastoral cooperative companies.

Abandonment of arable lands is the starting point of vegetation succession. The trajectory and speed of succession can be different according to the time of abandonment. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of abandonment periods on species richness, diversity and functional groups in shrublands and grasslands of Shirmard rangelands in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiri, Iran. A total of 96 abondoned arable lands were selected and grouped according to the abandonment periods (less than 5, 5-15, 15-25 and more than 25 years). 24 patches around abondoned arable lands were chosen as control sites. Cover of all species was estimated in 4 m2 plot (10 plots in each patches). Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The results of this study indicated that the lowest values of Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices in both vegetation types belonged to area with less than 5 years abondonment. The greatest Shannon-Wiener and Margalef indices in shrubland (1.85 and 3.83 respectively) were found in 15-25 years but in grassland (1.93 and 4.39 respectively) it happened in 5-15 years. In both vegetation types we found that the average canopy covers of functional groups such as annual plants, annual grasses, Poaceae and Cruciferae families significantly decreased as the time of abandonment incraesed. In contrast, a significant increase was found for perennial plants, shrubs, trees and Papilionaceae family. Therefore, this study showed that vegetation indices improved during natural succession of vegetation in abandoned arable lands but the reversibility of vegetation indices varied according to the kind of index and vegetation type.

Rangelands cover over 53 % of the country’s area. These areas require proper management practices for preservation, rehabilitation, development and optimal utilization. Nowadays, participation of people, particularly ranchers, is an essential step towards sustainable development in watershed management. The purpose of this study was to investigate social and economic factors affecting the willingness of ranchers to participate in rangeland rehabilitation and restoration projects in Dehgolan city. The number of samples was calculated to be 68 using Cochran equation and Krejcie and Morgan table. Results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between social and economic factors with the willingness of ranchers to participate in the rangeland rehabilitation and restoration projects. Also, the results of stepwise regression showed that among the variables affecting the willingness of ranchers to participate, four variables including social factors, economic factors, education and the number of livestock could explain 80% of the variance.

Conservation and restoration of biodiversity is very important for degraded rangeland ecosystems. It is necessary to assess the potential of soil seed bank as a major source of species. In this study, the soil seed bank size and composition were compared between exclosure and grazed areas. This was done in Chahar-Bagh rangelands in Golestan province. Soil was sampled in Exclosure and Grazing from 0-5 and 5-10 cm depths in 90 quadrates of 1 m2. Then seed bank composition was identified after seed germination in glasshouse. A total of 28 species from 15 families were found in soil seed bank flora of both exclosure and grazed areas. Compositae, Gramineae, and Rosaceae were dominant in soil seed bank. Also, hemicryptophyte, Forbs and perennials were abundant in the seed bank of both areas. Exclosure significantly increased the seed density of Digitaria sanguinalis, Potentilla canescens, Stellaria media, Sonchus oleraceusand Galium verum in the seed bank. The species richness and diversity indices were not significantly different between two areas. These indices significantly increased in upper soil layer in exclosure while these indices were not significantly different between two soil depths in grazed area. The result of this study showed that exclosure influenced the soil seed banks, however, there was no evidence of positive changes in species richness and diversity indices and also an increase of grasses in soil seed bank.

Traditional and indigenous knowledge of range beneficiaries is a valuable national heritage for management programs and social development, providing opportunities to identify, prioritize and organize local resources. The introduction of this traditional knowledge among the population has a positive approach towards the ranch job, and can reinforce the strength of social structure in the country. Accordingly, in this research, it was tried to introduce the mechanisms of indigenous knowledge for the management of range allotments by the semi nomads of Damavand mountain summer rangelands. This is a qualitative research method, in this technique while doing interviews and gathering deep data, axial questions were determined regarding the use of rangeland. The methodology of the study is qualitative including interviews and data collection as well as determining central questions regarding the use of rangelands. Our results clearly showed that rangeland beneficiaries were easily able to determine range allotments, spatial distribution of livestock, herd size, sites of drinking water and so forth. They also can use all parts of a range allotment through traditional grazing systems, exclosure, and observing livestock entry to the rangeland. It seems that indigenous knowledge and occupational experience of shepherds can perform an important role in collaborative activities to achieve sustainable management and provide the success of rangeland projects.

Assessing the floristic resources of each region is very important because it serves to identify it’s the genetic potential. The purpose of this study was to introduce floristic list, life forms and endangered species of Gheissari region. This region covers about 9816 ha and lies in the west part of Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari province. Field data were collected in the years between 2009 and 2010. During that period, the plant species were collected and then identified based on families, genera and species using appropriate reference. The results showed that there were 487 plant species belonging to 65 families and 301 genera. The families like Composite, Gramineae, Papilionaceae, Labiatae, Cruciferae, Umbeliferae and Caryophyllaceae had 70, 46, 41 39, 38, 30 and 21 species, respectively. These families made up 58.52 percent of the total species. According to Raunkiaer’s life form, species were as below: 50.31% hemicryptophytes (245 species), 23.20% therophytes (113 species), 12.52% cryptophytes (61 species), 7.60% phanerophytes (37 species) and 5.75% chamephytes (28 species). The chorology of species showed that 67.15 percent of species belonged to Iran-Turanian, 5.75 percent Polyregional, 2.67 percent Cosmopolitan and the rest belonged to the others. Threatened species included 86 species of the total species from Iran-Turanian. Among them, the endangered class, vulnerable, lower risk and data deficient were 2, 3, 67 and 14 species respectively.

The intensive grazing of livestock of is one of the physical destroyer pressures on the rangeland ecosystems that cause reduction of vegetation and species variations. The basis for this study was to investigate the grazing effect of livestock on the plant characteristics in the grazed and non-grazed area. The Mountain rangelands of Gorgan, which have been moderately and heavily grazed areas, were selected. The systematic sampling was done randomly on fourty plots with three transects in each area. Simpson, Shannon, Menhinick and Margalef indices in PAST Software, recorded the species characteristics as diversity and richness in each plot. The data method used to analyzed there data was analysis of variance and means comparison in MINITAB Software. The results showed that the vegetation indices in heavily grazed area were less than the non-grazed area.
The species diversity did not show significant difference in the moderately grazed areas comparable to other regions.