Short-term and long-term grazing capacity of Taft southwestern rangelands, Yazd

For the proper use of rangelands, the correct calculation of grazing capacity is one of the main goals of rangeland management. In this study, the short-term and long-term grazing capacity of Taft southwestern rangelands were calculated and compared with the common method of determining grazing capacity in rangeland projects. For this purpose, four habitats were selected in the southwest of Taft, and while measuring the forage production, other factors influencing the grazing capacity such as forage quality and their class of palatability, the allowable use of habitats, and the daily metabolic energy needs of the predominant grazing livestock were measured. The results showed that the grazing capacity calculated in the common method (1816 animal units) was more than the short-term (1367 animal units) and long-term grazing capacity (1030 animal units). This difference is due to the lack of attention to the factors influencing the calculation of grazing capacity in rangeland projects. This has led to overgrazing and eventually destruction of rangelands. Therefore, to calculate the grazing capacity, besides forage quantity, it is better to consider the forage quality and the metabolic energy requirement equivalent to the grazing livestock unit in rangelands. Instead of measuring production in one year, it is recommended that long-term rangeland production be the basis for calculating grazing capacity to maintain livestock and rangeland balance and prevent forage loss in wet years or overgrazing in droughts.