Investigation of livestock behavior and determining the dependence of Kurdish sheep and native goats on forage sources in forest ecosystem of Tang-e-Dalab in Ilam province

Rangelands beneath the forests of Dalab in the northwest of Ilam are grazed from May to November. To investigate the grazing behavior and determine the dependence of livestock on forage resources, three goats and three Kurdish sheep were randomly selected from three herds in the area, and by installing a GPS device on them, information on the distance and movement time of livestock were recorded every month. Maps of geological formation, slope, altitude, land use, and landform were prepared, and monthly GPS information was combined with the maps. The evaluation of forage production was carried out in 27 plots of forest floor and 25 samples of trees and shrubs. The results showed that the goat had an average daily mobility of 7.7 km and a distance of 2.6 km for grazing; but these figures for sheep are 7.8 and 1.9 km, respectively. It was also found that goats were more present in the altitude of 1400 to 1500 m and sheep in the elevation of 1300 to 1400 m. Livestock were more prone to grazing on the forest floor, and they preferred slopes of less than 30%, hill form, and Pabdeh geological formation. Comparison of grazing, moving, and stopping times showed no difference between the types of grazing in terms of grazing behavior, but there were differences between the types of activity (movement, stopping, and grazing) in different months.  Examination of the grazing behavior of the livestock using video recording revealed that the livestock spent about 33 to 36 minutes on grazing, three to five minutes on stopping, and 12 to 14 minutes on grazing without movement.  Finally, it was found that about 50% of the relative forage production was from forest floor grasses, 34% forest trees, and 10% sub-forest farms; therefore, livestock ration dependence on forest floor grasses is about 61 %, forest trees 25 %, and forest floor farms 7 %.