Influence of Characteristic Wetlands on Rice Yield in East Mazandaran

The falling of underground water table, the dryout of many wells and the infiltration of salty water in mazandaran limited the cultivation of rice as strategic crop in Iran. So the storing of water for agriculture is very important in the region, which private and public wetlands are he best alternatives for such purposes as the local people tried to do it long before. The main purpose of the present research is as investigation of socioeconomic role of wetland as complementary water resource foe agriculture and fishery as well as for development of ecotourism in the eastern part of Mazandaran. In this study 334 wetlands were recognized from Qaemshahr-Joybar to Behshahr-Galogah, which have been classified according to their area by using classified random sampling method. Then 43 wetlands in 16 villages were studies in the different socio-economic context. After completion of questionnaires and interview with wetland users (owners and farmers), several field works well done for final check out, then all data were described by using statistical methods. The Lajit model was applied for investigation of wetland’s function on agriculture especially rice, employment, income and fishery production. The results revealed that with increase of wetland’s area the rice and fish products increases markedly. Also such increase has been more evident in public owned wetlands than private one.