Rangeland zoning for sheep and goats common grazing in the Darmian Basin (South Khorasan Province)

Considering the poor condition of most rangelands of Iran, evaluation of rangeland potential and determination of suitability for continuous and optimal utilization seems necessary. The purpose of this study was to investigate the rangeland suitability for sheep and goat grazing using FAO and GIS methods. Therefore, three criteria including vegetation cover, water, and soil were studied. The vegetation cover characteristics were measured using four transects of 200 meters and 2 m2 plots. The location and volume of water resources were recorded and the water quality (EC and TDS) was measured. The soil erosion was studied using the MPSIAC method. The final suitability model for common grazing was prepared by integrating different layers of criteria. According to the results of the final suitability model, 7810.11 ha (61.5%) of the study rangelands were of a low suitability (S3) and 4899.16 ha (38.5%) had no suitability (N). The low forage production as well as soil erosion was recognized as the most important factors limiting the rangeland suitability of the study area; however, abundant water resources with an acceptable quantity and quality were the positive points of the area for grazing. Regarding the low suitability classes in the study area, livestock management plans should be fully and carefully performed to increase the development of palatable species. Overall, to compensate the beneficiaries’ income it is recommended that other rangeland capacities such as exploitation of by-products, tourism, and beekeeping be considered as supplementary livelihoods.