Analyzing the viewpoint of pastoralists towards the palatability of forage plants

Rural people, nomads and rangeland users have achieved much knowledge about their environment by experience over the years; one of these cases is to identify the forages grazing by different types of livestock and their palatability. The present research aimed to identify forage plant species and their palatability in Dashlyboroun rangeland in Gonbad district.
The present study is an applied research and was done by analytical and survey method in 2014. The statistical community of this study is consisting of 35 pastoralists participating in range management. The research instrument in this research is questionnaire provided by fast core evaluation and with paying attention to 12 pastoralist’s viewpoints. After collecting questionnaires, data were classified and finally analyzed qualitatively.
Results showed that cow and sheep with %78 and %65 have the most use from forbs while camel and sheep with %88 and %60 have the most use from growing and green shrubs. Camel and goat with %62 and %20 have the most use of dried shrubs. Results from joint use of livestock indicated that the group of camel-sheep has the most use from forbs with %48 while the group of camel-goat has the most use from shrubs with %64. Also, cow such as sheep grazes from all aerial parts of forbs but in case of shrubs they only graze the leaves.
Using years of experiences of rangeland users and pastoralists is very important for management planning and decisions making. Such information of pastoralists can lead to an appropriate and sustainable range management. For optimizing the usage of rangelands for livestock husbandry and herding it is necessary to know the quantity and quality of forages. Because by knowing the forage plants and estimating their palatability for different livestock in rangelands, herd grazing can be managed in range ecosystems. Therefore the experiences of rangeland users in addition to paying attention to ecological changes and number of livestock, not only will help in conserving rangeland ecosystems health, but also will improve the output of animal feed management.