Evaluating of forest sustainability affected by tribal forestry (Case study: Shoul Abad-Lorestan, Iran)

The Zagros forests, covering approximately 5.2 million hectares of area, is considered as vital part of natural resources in Iran. Regulated and precise management plans to manage the Zagros forests is crucial regarding to its economic and social circumstances. Applying the local forestry, involving people’s participation in a near future, can be rewarding provided by making the possibility of its implementation. In this study, in order to find a transient policy to preparing the Shoul Abad area (Located in Lorestan Province) for the participatory forestry, tribal (local) forestry is considered as the best tool that can help to record, revise, and correct this kind of forestry. A number of three districts including Kamargap (where the tribal forestry is being implemented), Hiyye (where the tribal forestry is not being implemented) and Darre-Dang were selected and analyzed by FAO criteria (e.g. investigating the forest resources, biodiversity etc.). The forest sustainability was calculated by analyzing the data (regeneration, canopy coverage and biodiversity) gathered from the districts, using SAS software. Comparing the mean groups was carried out using SNK test. The results showed that the forest sustainability is higher in Kamargap district. Hence, applying the tribal forestry is now proposed to manage the forests located in Shoul Abad-Lorestan.