A comparative study of the dependence of livestock to rangeland in rainy and dry year conditions (Case study: Qashqaee-Tribe, Clan of Sesh-Boloki)

Considering the role and importance of rangelands for supplying animal feeds of the nomads, a study was conducted on the Qashqaee-Tribe (Clan Sesh-Boloki) ecosystem during 2014 and 2015 to determine the dependence of their livestock to the feeding sources including rangelands, crop residues and manual feeding separately in winter and summer seasons/rangelands, and in the wet and dry years. The method for collecting the data was the field survey based on the library review via questionnaires and interviews, respectively. Cochrane’s criterion/methodology was used to determine the sample size. The validity-reliability of the questionnaires was controlled by the conventional methods. The data were collected through filling in questionnaires and interviews with 405 samples from nomadic households. Then, using statistical software, the data were statistically analyzed. According to the results, the animal dependence of families of nomadic clans of Shesh-blouki tribe on various feeding sources (the rangeland, the crop residues, and manual feeding) in the wet and dry years showed a significant difference (P<0.01).  The animal of nomadic families studied was 53.36 percent dependent on the rangelands in the wet years, and 34.8 percent in dry years; the dependence on crop residues in the summer rangeland in the wet years was 25.6 percent and in the dry years was 30.5 percent; the livestock dependence on manual feeding in the winter area in the wet years was 20.9 percent and in the dry years was 34.6 percent. Additionally, in this study, it was found that despite the severe degradation of rangelands, the percentage of livestock dependence of nomadic families to the rangelands is still significant and it seems that this issue has led nomads to continue traditional migrations.