Investigation on the effective indices for honey production in Rangelands (Case study: Rangelands of Taft city in Yazd province)

Abstract Background and objectives: Recognizing the property and evaluating the ecological capability of the natural ecosystem is one of the principles for proper management and planning in natural resources. Also, the preparation and implementation of practical plans in order to achieve economic and protective goals, requires knowledge of these properties and determining the potential of these resources. One of the potentials of rangeland ecosystems is determining the capability and potential of these resources for beekeeping use. This research was conducted with the aim of investigating and identifying the effective natural and management indicators on honey production. Methodology: natural as well management indicators affecting on honey production with 13 and 16 Questionnaire items respectively, were selected as sequential independent variables with a five-choice Likert spectrum and honey production index as a dependent variable of the distance type that became a rank. A statistical population of 81 beekeepers was designed and the sample size was estimated to be 67 samples using Cochran's formula. The sampling was done randomly and the validity of the questionnaire was assessed by professors and experienced experts and the reliability of the questionnaires was measured using Cronbach's alpha statistics. Results: The results of statistical analysis using rank mean test with SPSS software showed that among natural indices affecting the honey production, the percentage of nectar-producing and pollinating species with the highest rank (3.14) and the duration of flowering period with the second rank (3.01), and among the management index items, the type of nutrition consumed by bees with rank 3.05 and the existence of water resources with rank 2.97 all took the first and second priority, respectively. Also, the results of Spearman correlation coefficient showed that natural indices have a positive and significant correlation with management indices at 99% confidence level. Conclusion: It was suggested that beekeepers, while strengthening their technical efficiency and knowledge by participating in training and extension classes, establishing hives in rangelands with suitable conditions in terms of percentage of vegetation and attractive species for bees, rainfall (humidity) and the existence of healthy water resources, and considering proper time for the migration of the hives to increase the quantity and quality of honey produced. Key words: Beekeeper, Cochrane, Hive, Honey, Randomly Classified, Capability