The main objective of this study was to assess factors affecting early entrance and later exit of herders from summer rangelands. The study population consisted of heads of Nomads in Kouhdasht region, Lorestan province, Iran. According to Cochran formula among 1038 Nomadic families, 310 families were selected with stratified random sampling in 2015. In order to assess validity, expert's opinions were considered and face to face interviews and questionnaires were applied to collect data, and Cronbach’s Alpha was used to assess reliability. To determine the factors influencing movement calendar, the factor analysis (principle component analyses) and KMO statistics were used. The variables were ordinated by factor analysis into six factors. Results of Mann-Whitney test indicate that annual herd calving and distance of winter and summer rangelands had a significant effect on livestock entrance and exit date to the summer rangeland. Results of Kruskal-Wallis test showed that herders who had private rangeland and those who had cooperative rangelands leave summer rangelands later and in the right time, respectively. Herders whose main job was ranching had good knowledge about livestock entrance and exit date of rangeland. Results obtained from factor analysis showed that factors of tribes’ tendency to use fresh fodder for their livestock, lack of forage in the winter rangelands and increased annoying insects were effective in early migration of nomadic. The livestock weight loss and lack of places in the winter rangelands were effective in early and late exit of livestock from the summer rangeland. تفاصيل المقالة

Land use change as the most important destructive factor in natural ecosystems is a globally problem that changes soil properties. Therefore, correct management and recognition of change aspects on each component of the ecosystem is necessary. This process causes land destruction, ecosystem instability, soil erosion, and more biological threats. Due to increasing land use conversion from rangelands to dryland farming, the effect of this phenomenon was studied on soil chemical properties in three land uses such as protected rangeland, dryland farming and abandoned dryland in Kian rangelands in Lorestan province, Iran in 2016. Soil properties including Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), and lime were compared between three land uses in two depths of 0-20 cm and 20-50 cm. Results showed that land use changes significantly affect these soil properties. In dryland farming, SOC was reduced in comparison to rangeland by 42% and 52% in the first and second depths, respectively. In contrast, the pH, EC and lime values were increased more than natural rangelands as 0.9%, 25.8%, 63.1% in the first depth, and 0.4%, 50%, 15.1% in the second depth, respectively. By stopping farming in abandoned dryland, the soil properties in abandoned dryland, were closer to rangeland than soil properties in dryland. These amounts in abandoned dryland ranked between rangeland and dryland farming. Our findings revealed that soil chemical properties were changed by conversion of rangeland to dryland farming via agricultural activities and human manipulation. Regarding these effects on soil properties and to keep ecosystems stability, attention has to be paid to land capability and prevention from wrong land uses. تفاصيل المقالة