The book is an ambitious attempt to cover a very wide range of topics related Biodiversity Conservation and Land Protection and to serve the interests of a wide variety of plants, ecosystems, managements, rangelands and livestock. Central Asia is vast, and the environmental diversity reflects the contrasts that give rise within the region of the coldest and hottest deserts, extensive steppe, grasslands and rangelands, alpine meadows, glacier fields, and mountains and plains. It is this great variation in geography, topography, and climate that provides the rich and unique diversity found in the region’s ecosystems. There is great disparity too in the ethnicity of its peoples and the economic status of the various countries within the region. The pressures on these rich natural resources (including water from the high mountains) and environmental systems generally have, however, been increasing over the past few decades. Rapid population growth, urbanization, rising economic output, and more consumptive lifestyles, coupled with increasing incidence of poverty, have all contributed to the region’s struggle to adjust to the market economy and the demands of the increasingly disenfranchised citizens, especially those on or just above the poverty line. Sustainable use of rangelands is considered a key component of the ADB (Asian Development Bank)/GEF approach. Development of a land ethic that promotes better long-term management is central to this effort. Sharing and dissemination of experiences in sustainable rangeland management gleaned over many years by local and foreign experts whose knowledge of these Central Asian countries is unsurpassed is a vital part of this effort. This book is a significant and most valuable contribution to the knowledge sharing that has been promoted and implemented through the ADB/GEF partnership. Manuscript profile

Dr. Mohamad Reza Moghadam, professor of range management Department, Tehran University has been one of the most important and influential person on science of range management in Iran. He was born in Tabriz city on May 5th, 1940 and graduated in range management from Montpellier University, French in October 1963. Most of the mangers, scientists and professors were taught by him. He recieved lots of awards from govermental departments and Iranian Society for Range Management as well as other qualified individuals and groups working in rangeland field. Also, he founded range management NGO. Dr. Moghadam has had a long and productive career including principal research projects for national and international rangelands and he was appointed as the dean of Research Center of Natural Resources of Alborz in 1971. He founded MSc. and PhD. courses in Tehran University following his retirement from this university.He has worked as a rangeland consultant for the international researches. He has worked in many countries, spending much of his time in different sections of natural resources during his retirement. In total, Dr. Moghadam has published approximately 80 papers, three fundamental, basic and reference books, and a lot of symposia proceedings. He was a founding main member of the Iranian Rangeland Society for which he served as the President for two times, and Chairman of some National Rangeland Congresses which were held in Isfehan and Tehran provinces. Vic Moghadam is an internationally recognized rangeland scientist. He has made significant contributions through conducting a variety of researches and consulting to enhance our understanding of the rangelands in Iran and worldwide. His work has covered many subjects and he has been continually productive for over 50 years! All the Iranian rangeland scientists, teachers, students and staffs appreciate his dedication to rangelands. Manuscript profile

The book written by seventeen experts in the field of rangeland management, this compilation of essays brings to light the latent issues concerning this subject to readers all over the globe. Though technical approaches can address some issues, social processes ultimately prevent the balancing of these matters. Socio-economic and political institutions are often a stumbling block for improving rangeland management. Human intervention (such as burning and grazing) have been used as rehabilitation efforts to address reverse land degradation problems. It is also hoped that these methods will bring about ecological restoration for more than 30 percent of the world’s land mass and provide living conditions for 1 billion people across every inhabited continent. Multiple-use has become an important factor in the last few decades, especially when discussing global climate change. The extensive bibliography provided will give researchers, members of academia and policy makers contemplative subject matter; they may access multi-lingual literature that give insight into the issues concerning rangeland situations.The book has some useful information such as:Part 1 Rangeland Ecology: The Underpinnings1. Sustainable Rangeland Management: An Ecological and Economic Imperative(V. R. Squires, Visiting Professor in Rangeland Ecology and Management, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou. China)2. On the Failure to Control Overgrazing and Land Degradation in China’s Pastoral Lands: Implications for Policy and for the Research Agenda(V.R. Squires and Hua Limin, Rangeland Ecology and Management, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou China)3. Small Holders, the Key to Successful Implementation of Integrated Ecosystem Management: A Case Study from North West China's Pastoral Zone(Hua Limin and V.R. Squires, Rangeland Ecology and Management, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China)Part 2 Rangeland Management in Practice Manuscript profile

He received his B.Sc. degree in Biology (1990) from Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Canada, also M.Sc. in Botany (1993) from Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Canada and Ph.D. in Plant Ecology (1996) from Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, England.Dr. Fraser's expertise is in grassland and wetland ecosystems, with a focus on ecosystem reclamation, biodiversity, range management, climate change, and food web theory. Lauch is the Associate Editor of two academic journals (Applied Vegetation Science and Plant Ecology), Editorial Board of Rangeland Science Journal and chair of HerbDivNet, an international network of over 60 scientists united to explore the drivers controlling herbaceous plant diversity.In 1969, he started his collaboration with Post-Doctoral Research Associate in University of Ottawa till 1999. At the same time since 1998 to 1999 was lecturer in Department of Biology in Carleton University. Then was Assistant Professor of Akron University in Department of Biology from 1999 to 2004 and after that he was Associate Professor (tenured) and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Thompson Rivers University, Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Biological Science the Range Organization in the form of preparing range management plans till 2009. Finally now he is full professor and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Thompson Rivers University.He is the author of 6 books, 55 papers and articles and more than 12 technical reports also has been presented 129 papers in scientific assemblies.He had been supervisor and advisor lots of graduate students in MSc. and PhD. also advisor of post-doctoral students.Graduate courses taught at TRU and Akrom university are: Research Methods, Preparation and Presentation, Advanced Topics in Evolution and Ecology, Community/Ecosystem Ecology, Wetland Ecology, Topics in Integrative Biology and Scientific Writing. Manuscript profile

The wide ecological area consists of a rangeland with special vegetation and one of the key factors in rangeland management is to select Management Indicator Species (MIS). Management indicator species based on a new method such as Analytical Network Process-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation (ANP-DEMATEL) is one of the most important stages in the successful Range management as choosing a suitable species for the site can be the key to success. This paper provides research contribution on selecting management indicator species using ANP-DEMATEL for the Range management of Nahavand rangeland in Hamedan, Iran in 2016. This research as a guide to determine the best Management Indicator Species (MIS) was interested in how to use ANP-DEMATEL approach using Super Decisions software version 2.8. The criteria of species selection were grazing pressure, soil conservation, palatability, and beekeeping value and a set of species for criteria included Acanthophyllum microcephalum, Thymus kotschyanus, Hypericum perforatum, Bromus tomentellus, Tragopogon graminifolius, Malabaila secacul, Festuca ovina, Poa bulbosum, Hordeum bulbosum and Medicago sativa. Criteria were identified as the most preferable options. Results showed that grazing pressure and soil conservation with the values of 2.001 and 1.125 were the best criteria for the range management. Among species, Medicago sativa, Thymus kotschyanus, Hypericum perforatum and Acanthophyllum microcephalum (0.1454, 0.1387, 0.1247 and 0.1155) contributed to rangeland management objectives. The result of this study showed that the multi-criteria decision making and ANP-DEMATEL can provide accurate results and help rangeland managers to overcome knowledge gaps under complex ecological conditions. Manuscript profile

Knowledge of the relationships between biotic components of rangeland ecosystem i.e. herbivores and plants is important for range managers. In order to study herbivorse grazing intensity on plant species diversity, an experiment was conductef using fuor grazing treatments in darrehshar rangelands, Ilam province in 2015. Plant species data were taken based on a randomized-systematic sampling method. Numerical values of diversity, richness and evenness indices were calculated using PAST as well as Ecological Methodology softwares. Significant differences were observed between grazing treatments for all diversity indices, except Camargo evenness index (P ≤ 0.05).The highest values of Simpson and Shannon diversity indices as 0.916 and 3.96 respectively were obtained in the ungrazed site and the lowest values of those indices as 0.87 and 3.36 were obtained in the heavy grazing treatment. Ungrazed site had 6.4٪ and 12.2٪ higher diversity than the heavily grazed site. The highest values of Margalef and Menhinickrichness as 4.66 and 0.91 were obtaned in the moderately grazed site. The lowest values of those indices as 2.71 and 0.598 were occurred in the heavy grazing site. Margalef and Menhinick indices values in the moderately grazed site were 36.8٪ and 46% higher than those in the heavy grazing treatment, respectively. The highest modified and Smith & Wilson evenness indices with average values of 0.163 and 0.272 were obtained in the heavy grazing site and the lowest values with the average of 0.101 and 0.178 were in the ungrazed area. This study concludes that heavy grazing intensity can adversely affect plant species diversity in semi-steppe rangelands. Manuscript profile

It is very easy to view land degradation and desertification as purely biophysical phenomena for which there are neat technological solutions. Yet millions of real people live in the affected lands, and they both cause land degradation and are impacted by it, so scientists and land managers need to find a good balance between reductionist rigor and societal applicability. The concept of Land Degradation Neutral World (LDN) offered great promise to meet the commitments made in the various National Action Plans as a road map for achieving goals for the affected country reports to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The operationalization of LDN is more challenging. We must recognize the consequences of past inaction on land degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss. Land degradation plays a key role in this ‘vicious triangle’ of threats to our sustainability. The LDN agenda provides a framework, and commitment to it by all nations affected by land degradation, is the key to successful outcomes by 2030. Adoption of the idea and implementation of measures could lead to reaching LDN, one of the UN’s sustainable development goals that was agreed in 2015, but it won’t be easy and there is an obligation for the richer nations to provide financial and technical support to affected party countries. Manuscript profile

Livestock grazing in unsuitable land has increasingly grown in most part of rangelands of Iran due to population growth. It causes many irreparable damages such as soil erosion, water loss, and wealth loss. Therefore, it is important to identify the best suitable land for livestock grazing. Land suitability for livestock grazing affects by many ecosystem components but due to time and funding restrictions, the most important and feasible elements were investigated. This paper adapted the schematic model based on the concepts presented by the FAO suitability analysis for livestock grazing in Sarab Sefid Borujerd rangeland of Iran. Significant needed factors to livestock grazing such as forage; soil and water which were in sub-models were determined and incorporated into the final model of rangeland grazing suitability. Some important maps include such as: DEM, slope, aspect, range condition, range trend, forage, soil erosion, water sources used as input data. Three sub models including water accessibility, forage production and erosion sensitivity were considered. The most adaptation of Suitability occurs for class (Good) S1, (Medium) S2, (Poor) S3 and (Non-suitable) N respectively using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). First of all, the complete raster layers valued and ranked by FAO method for each factor then integrated by overlays intersected command. Results show that according to 16 types of vegetation cover there was no each of them in S1 class, 3088.75 ha S2, 1892.63 ha S3 and 882.85 ha were N class. Also result determined that there is no limitation of water resource in total rangeland and the most and main important factors effect on suitability are soil erosion and slope due to mountainous area. According to the field data and comparing with the study data it can/is possible to conclude GIS technique is fast and accurate to monitoring and determining of suit abilities of rangelands. Manuscript profile

Land use may be regarded as one of the most important factors affecting theenvironment with respect to human activities. So far, destroying the rangelands andchanging them into the waste lands and poor rangelands has been proposed as the mostsignificant variations of land use done by human beings. This paper has been conducted toevaluate the variations of vegetation percentage and land uses in Barabad-Darook villagewith the area of 1522.99 km2 in Sabzevar city during 1987-2007. Thus, using satellitebasedimages of TM and ETM+, the most appropriate band composition has been selectedand a mapping of vegetation cover and land use was provided through maximumlikelihood algorithms to correct the errors of geometer and radiometer highlights. At last,the accuracy of extracted maps was to be determined by the means of overall accuracy testand Kappa coefficient in order to achieve the validation of research process. Resultsindicate that waste lands have been increased from 84.75 to 89.49 and third-ratedrangelands have been reduced from 6.85 to 4.14 percent. On the other hand, first-ratedrangelands were reduced from 0.03 to 0.01 percent which covers 5170791.45 m2 of totalarea in the district. Also, the results show that irrigated agricultural lands are to bedecreased from 6.53 to 0.07 percent. In total, due to improper exploitations of regionalwater resources and vegetation cover, land uses have been changed into fallow and wastelands leading to the decrease in the percentage cover of high quality rangelands. Researchfindings demonstrate that considering the accepted accuracy, new remote sensingtechnology can be applied to exactly estimate the area changes of land use and vegetation. Manuscript profile

The major aim of processing satellite images is to prepare topical and effectivemaps. The selection of appropriate classification methods plays an important role. Amongvarious methods existing for image classification, artificial neural network method is ofhigh accuracy. In present study, TM images of 1987, and ETM+ images of 2000 and 2006were analyzed using artificial fuzzy ARTMAP neural network within Mehrgan region,Kermanshah province, Iran, with an area of 5957 ha changes in range cover state in thisbasin during 3 periods of time from 1987 to 2000 and 2000 to 2006 were examined. In thisstudy, initially, Land sat data for intended years were corrected geometrically andradiometric ally. Next, different land use classes were defined and training samplesobtained via field visits. The obtained results show that, over time period of 1987-2000, theextent of low-density rangeland and farmland in study region had been increased by 89.09and 321.08 ha, respectively, while good rangeland and fair rangeland faced a decliningtrend of 358.29 ha and 48.89 ha. Also, during time period of 2000-2006, the extent of poorrangeland and farmland within study region has increased by 64.98 and 727.12 ha,respectively, while good rangeland and fair rangeland faced a declining trend of 144.01 haand 648.1 ha. Accuracy of vegetation maps resulting from satellite data classification usingalgorithm of artificial fuzzy ARTMAP neural network was 90.97% and 94% for TM(1987) images and ETM+ (2000,2006) respectively which indicates high accuracy ofARTMAP algorithms for classifying satellite. Therefore, this study proves high efficiencyand potential of artificial fuzzy ARTMAP neural network for classification of remotesensing images. Manuscript profile

Water resources suitability is one of the most important factors to sustainabilityutilization of natural potential by rangeland grazing suitability. To determine this factor inshort time, low cost and high accuracy are most challenges of experts and ranchers. Usingsuitable technique for this subject can be sustainable utilization comprising from rangelandecosystems according to its degradation and heavy grazing. This research was conducted inBoroujerd Sarab Sefid rangeland, Lorestan province, Iran from 2011 to 2012. Some factorssuch as slope, height and direction maps provided by using satellite images, basicinformation, analog and digitized maps such as; topographic and DEM (Digital ElevationModel). Also measurements of field were conducted by excursion and interview withherders to determine places of water resources such as permanent and temporary springsand permanent and temporary rivers too. Water resources area's map was prepared byusing Arc GIS9.3 software with integration of digitized information and field data. At theend water resources suitability were determined by using three sub models such asquantity, quality and distance from water resources. Results show that all of 16 plantvegetation types were dropped in І and П classes of water resources suitability whichdidn‟t have any limitation according to quantity and quality and distance of animalhusbandry and livestock. As a final conclusion this research shows that using RS and GIScould be useful to water resources suitability of rangeland ecosystems with low cost andhigh accuracy and speed, if consider standards and criteria of using GIS and RS. Manuscript profile

Species selection based on a new method such as a fuzzy method is one of the most important stages in the successful plantation management planning as choosing a suitable species for the site can be the key to success. This paper is based on a fuzzy extension of the Technique or Order Preference which is similar to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. The purpose of this paper is to develop fuzzy TOPSIS method to improve the quality of decision making for species selection. For this propose, the selection of range species was done using Fuzzy-TOPSIS techniques in 2012 in Sarab Sefid rangeland in Boroujerd, Lorestan Province, Iran. In this method, the ratings of various species versus subjective criteria and weights of all criteria were assessed by linguistic variables represented by fuzzy numbers. Fuzzy numbers try to resolve the ambiguity of concepts that are associated with man judgments. A set of pre-defined linguistic variables parameterized by triangular fuzzy numbers was used by the group to evaluate the weights of various criteria and the ratings of each species. To determine the order of species, the closeness coefficient was defined by calculating the distances to Fuzzy Positive Ideal Solution (FPIS) and Fuzzy Negative Ideal Solution (FNIS). Finally, for the application and verification, an empirical study was performed to demonstrate the model and identify the suitable species. Results show that Fuzzy-TOPSIS method is useful for species selection decision making and the proposed system can provide accurate results. Based on this method, Bromus tomentellus was the best species from frequency viewpoint for the range management. Manuscript profile

This research was conducted to investigate the factors contributing to thefailure in the forestry and rangeland by-product cooperative companies in Lorestanprovince, Iran. A descriptive-correlative research design was used. The statisticalpopulations were 1100 people divided into two groups of experts from natural resourceagency in Lorestan province and members of cooperative companies. The sample size was183 persons. Sampling method was simple random type using Neyman–Pearson model.Data were analyzed based on descriptive statistics (T-Test) and Pearson correlationmethod. Single-sample t-test results showed that the views of the two groups on the effectsof technical and economic barriers causing failure in cooperatives companies were thesame, but the expert's views were different for managerial, educational, cultural, social,and legal indicators. Also the results of independent t-test between the two groups showedthat the views of both experts and members for economic, managerial, educational, andlegal barriers were the same, but their opinions for cultural, social and technical barrierswere different. The results of cooperatives’ member’s views ranked indicators asmanagerial, legal, educational, cultural, social, economic, and technical barriers. For theviews of experts they were ranked as cultural, social, managerial, economic, legal,technical, and educational barriers. Manuscript profile

This research was conducted to identify the limitative factors of forage productionsuitability in order to achieve the sustainable exploitation of natural ecosystems in AliabadWatershed in Lorestan in 2013. The field measurements have been done through cutting andweighing method to estimate the forage amount, four-factor method to determine the rangecondition, trend scale to specify the orientation and appearance, the plant cover percentmeasurement to categorize the types and desert scroll to separate the land units followed bythe classification. At last, all the digital maps of type, orientation, condition and forageproduction by the help of integration were changed into the final forage production suitabilitymap using specific software ArcGIS 9.3. Results indicate that 6 separated vegetation typeshave been put in the suitability classes of S1, S2 and S3 for the areas of 972 ha (20.02%),3478 ha (71.62%) and 406 ha (8.36%), respectively and no part of the given rangelands wasplaced in non-suitability class (N). Considering the results obtained from final suitabilitymodel of range production in this study, it has been found that high slope was the mostrestricting factor of range suitability. In addition, there were other decreasing factors such aslow percentage of vegetation, overgrazing, early grazing, nonconformity of livestock andrangeland balance and changes of ranges into low-yielding dry lands’ farming as well asforage production. It was concluded that the accuracy, simplicity and quickness can beconsidered as fundamental elements to determine the range suitability using GeographicalInformation System (GIS) which has been addressed in this study. Manuscript profile

The diversity and richness of species are of important components to evaluate the health of ecologic system of rangelands. This research was conducted to investigate the biodiversity in riparian and neighboring areas via comparison of indices in Javaherdeh rangeland of Ramsar. Plot-transects was randomly used to estimate diversity, richness, dominance, and evenness indices in two regions. Multi Linear regression method was used to analyze the relationships of three indices to rangeland condition. Results of floristic list showed that there were 66 species belong to 19 families and 56 genera. Gramineae and Compositae families with values of (23.24 and 12.1%) had the highest and Boraginaceae and Hypolepidaceae with 2% had the lowest frequency, respectively. Result showed that richness species index in riparian area and diversity index in neighboring area had high correlation with the rangeland conditions. Hence, ecologic management could be used as a tool for evaluation of indices as reflectors of disturbance in rangeland. Manuscript profile

In this study, some habitat characteristics of Iranian rose (Hulthemia persica) were studied in Gonbad watershed in Hamedan providence, Iran. Soil samples were taken by a systematic randomized method at elevation 2000-2400 m above sea level. Samples were taken from 0-30 cm depth. In the laboratory, N, P, K% and organic matter (OC%), soil acidity (pH), conductivity (EC) and soil texture were determined. The collected data were analyzed and principal components analysis was performed on 14 variables using PC-ORD software. Results showed that these species are scattered in the height of 2100-2300 m above sea level with 15-65% slope in North, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest as spot bulks. Mean precipitation of this area is 227.5 mm. It’s vegetative, flowering and seed maturity stages occur in middle March, May and June, respectively. Plant roots permeate into the depth of 1.5 m and plant propagated by both seeds and rhizome. However, its seed has hard coat resulting in a difficulty in germinating so that the seed propagation is not sexual and it propagated normally by rhizomes. This species growth in the soil with EC=0.08-0.36, pH=7.30-7.98, limestone soil 0.50-19.5%, OC=1.09-0.27%, saturation (SP%)=18.3-38.2%, N=0.02-0.10 %, P=4.8-40.6 ppm, K=155-652 ppm, and the soil texture was clay to clay-loamy. Results of PCA analysis indicated that the first three axes explained total variation. The variables of SP, EC and slope were positively and silt and aspect were negatively correlated with the first axis. The variables of SP, pH and OC% were positively and sand and N% were negatively correlated with the second axis. Indicating that by increasing sand properties the pH values will decrease. There was also a negative correlation between vegetation coverage and slope (P<5%) suggesting land coverage reduction by increasing the slope. Height, slope and aspect had the highest influences on the species distribution. This plant as an invasive and non-palatable plant can form a type and be developed in the agriculture boundaries and pastures as a wide band. Manuscript profile

There are some barriers for rangers to take part in range plan projects andevaluation. Their participation is very useful for range managers to plan and provide solutionsfor solving problems. This study aims at comparing barriers of participating from rangers andexperts point of view in Lar moor rangelands, Tehran, Iran. In this research, data werecollected based on documentation-library and field working. The statistical populations of thestudy were 410 rangers and 43 experts that arranged based on Cochran formula, 178 rangersand 35 experts had answered the distributed questionnaires. Validity and reliability ofquestionnaires were assessed by a preliminary test using SPSS software and Cronbach alphacoefficient. The results of Mann-Whitney U test showed that the opinions of two groups onboth the effects of legislative initiatives, economic, social-cultural and educational barriers andnon-participating rangers in the range projects of Lar moor are the same. But comparing theexperts and rangers` opinions on the effects of management factors on non-participatingrangers showed that the experst`s view of on the effects of this factor are more agreeable thanthose of rangers. Also, the results of this test showed that participation rate of rangers in rangeprojects is the same in terms of both ranger and expert groups. Prioritizong results showed thatfrom the viewpoint of rangers, economic, legal, educational, social and cultural barriers havecontributed to non-participation of rangers in the range projects. But from the viewpoints ofexperts, legal, educational, administrative, socio-cultural and economic barriers are the reasonsof rangers’ non-participation. Manuscript profile