Written Paper
Study of the Suitable Time of Entry and Exit(Range Readiness) of Livestock in key ranges of five bioclimatic zones of Iran(Zanjan- Badabestan [2012]
Mousavi, Ahmad; Aghajanlu, Farhad; Moradi, Parviz;
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Rangeland consists of different plant species, each with different vegetative and reproductive stages. Thus, growing readiness of each species is perceived in a special period of time and grazing must also be stopped at a particular time. Moreover, rangeland soil is ready to serve livestock only in a certain period of times over the year. Without understanding these characteristics in a rangeland, determining the grazing season, grazing and livestock management is not possible. By performing this study, the revising of grazing management programs in rangelands in similar rangelands will be possible. So in order to determine the timing of livestock entry to and exit from rangelands, this study was carried out in the Bamestan rangeland in Zanjan Province, 45 km Northeast of Zanjan city for a period 4 years from 2007 to 2010. Stages of phenology and total height of species, and soil moisture conditions were recorded since the beginning of the growing season to the end of growing period, about 20 weeks, over 4 years. To determine the appropriate time for livestock exit from rangeland, utilization per cent evaluation method was employed to compare with allowable use of the main species. The results showed that there were significant differences among species in terms of phenology stages from year to year. Plant growth in warm years starts about one month earlier, and there were large differences in vegetative and reproductive activities over dry and wet years.
Keywords: Range Readiness, Time of livestock Entry to Rangeland, Time of Exit from the Rangeland, Phenology, Grazing Management, Badamestan rangelands
