Grazing behavior of Kermani sheep on steppe rangelands in Dehno- Kerman Province

Proper utilizing based on scientific principles is one of the requirements of stable range management one of the requirements for proper range management is Knowledge of grazing behavior of livestock. For this purpose, in this study, the grazing behavior of sheep in the steppe rangeland of Dehno was investigated. Initially a three-year-old Ewe was selected, then using a geographic positioning system (GPS), the path of movement, the time of arrival and departure to the rangeland and its movement speed, duration and time of its resting was recorded. Then the data were statistically analyzed using two-way analysis of variance. The results showed that, except for the walked distance by livestock during the years and months and the spent time for movement, there is no significant difference between the measured parameters of grazing behavior during the three years of study. The most walked distance referred to 2010 and the most spent time for movement referred to March, while the lowest time was for June. The most walked distance from the sheep has occurred in slope gradient ranging from 0 to 8% that covered with Artemisia sieberi - Zygophyllum eurypterum. According to the results, the climate and vegetation condition had been effect on livestock grazing behavior. Thus the study of animal grazing behavior in different climate conditions play an important role in the regulation of grazing program and optimal use of the forage capacity of rangeland ecosystems.