Evaluation of Ecologic Sustainability of Summer Rangelands: A Case Study of Four Allotments of Shahsavan Nomads in Meshginshahr County of Iran

Degradation of ecosystem is one of the crises of the twenty-first century, occurring as a result of human intervention. Each ecosystem is characterized by its economic, social and ecological structures. Consequently, the ecosystem's ecological potential is characterized based on the ecological analysis of ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ecological sustainability of allotments, utilized by Shahsavan nomads in summer rangelands of the Sabalan Mountain in south of Meshginshahr County, Ardabil province. Ten indicators were chosen to measure and evaluate the ecological sustainability. To determine the relationship between sustainability and conventional systems, analysis of variance and for comparing the means, Duncan test were used. The results showed that the ecological sustainability in 33 percent of the allotments was lower and in 50 percent of them was higher than an average of 26-34; in addition, the factors such as numerous livestock and operators had impacts on the sustainability of the pastures. These results were confirmed by comparing the average scores with the Duncan test.