Evaluation of forage production accessibility with considering effective factors using RS and GIS

Evaluation of forage production is an important issue in determining grazing capacity of rangelands. There is no doubt that all forage production in rangelands is not evenly accessible and different factors affect the accessibility of forage. In this research, factors affecting forage availability were studied. After a wide literature review, factors of distance from water supplies, density of shrubs, slope and land uses were identified as the main factors preventing forage accessibility. Forage production and shrub density were respectively measured using clip and weighing method in quadrates and distance method. Forage production measurements in representative area were extrapolated to the whole area using IRS satellite images. In this research, 18 vegetation indices were examined as forage production data (independent factor) were regressed against vegetation indices values (dependent factor) using SPSS. Map of forage production was created based on the best fit regression. Then, with adjusting all limiting factors, the map of accessible forage production was created based on the tables. The maps were illustrated and available forage was calculated after implementing adjustment of each factor. Statistical results showed significant differences (p≤0.05) between forage production with considering slope and shrub density and forage production based on all limiting factors of forage accessibility. While distance from water supplies and other land uses had no significant effect on forage production.