An analysis on the efficiency of sampling strategies in range evaluation on southern Zagros

Data sampling is the first step for sustainable rangeland management. This research was conducted to investigate the efficiency of four sampling strategies: random sampling (RND), systematic sampling (SYS), systematic-random sampling (SRS) and representative stand selection (RSS) in semi-steppe ranges of southern Zagros, near Shiraz. Each sampling unit was established based on four sampling strategy and plant cover and moving time was recorded. The precision, accuracy and time of different strategies were calculated. The result showed that sampling strategies were significantly different in terms of precision, accuracy (p<0.05), and time consumption (cost) (p<0.01). Weighting and ranking the sampling strategies by AHP method showed that SRS strategy had the highest rank and also RSS strategy was the alternative method for sampling the vegetation cover of rangelands. It should be noted that if the sampler has no enough experience to select the representative stands of vegetation, it is preferable to use SRS sampling strategy.