Badjian, Gholamreza

Ismail, Dahlan

Mehrabi, A. A.

Shahwahid H. O., Mohd.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress Modelling the Effect of Rangeland Management on Livestock Production System of Nomads in Southern Iran Gholamreza Badjian Fars Research Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Iran Dahlan Ismail University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia Mohd. Shahwahid H. O. University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia A. A. Mehrabi University of Tehran, Iran Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/16-1/19 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]817　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Integrated Management of Harmful Organisms of Grasslands/RangelandsModelling the effect of rangeland management on livestock production system of nomads insouthern IranGholam Rez a Bad j ian1 , Dahlan Ismail 2 , Mohd . Shahw ahid H .O .2 , A .A . Mehrabi31 Fars Research Center f or A griculture and Natural Resources , 2 University Putra Malaysia , 43400 Serdang , Selangor ,Malaysia , 3 University o f Tehran , K araj , I ranE‐mail :bad j ian＠ f arsagres .irKey words : rangeland management ,nomads ,sustainable livestock production system ,southern IranIntroduction Nomads and their belongings , as sub‐systems , are the main part of the highland range production system andcropland production system .System dynamics and modelling are used to assess these complex systems . Pastoral nomadism is aform of living that is ecologically adjusted at a particular technological level for utilization of marginal resources ( Emadi , １９９５) .The overall objective of the research was to study the nomads as the major ( applier) of a Nomadic Production System ( NPS) inthe Bakkan region and to identify their sub‐systems and components .Materials & Methods To achieve results and answers to some questions based on the objective , a district located on the north ofthe Fars province in the south of the country , namely Bakkan , the first governmental site for nomads�settlement and a NPSwas selected for study . The main contributing factor for integrating the livestock production system is the availability ofherbage in rangeland that is directly grazed by animals and the availability of forage in a cropland production system that directly( grazing on crop residues) and indirectly ( by gathering the crop residues as part of a concentrate ) provide animal feed . Thesesub‐systems are linked together by grazing energy intake models for sheep and goats . The output of the NPS or energyconsumption is measured by animal production , such as live body weight ( meat production) . In this study , validation of somecomponents in the feeding sub‐systems was conducted based on observations of Torki Ghashghaii ( TG) sheep , the main breedraised in Bakkan . The herd was weighed monthly , and data such as the feeding calendar for ewes , rams and lambs , monthlybody weights , pregnancy rate , lambing rate , body characteristics of lambs , ewes and rams , and mortality were available( Eilami , １９９９) . General information on seasonal grazing patterns was obtained from institutions and specific information wasobtained during field interviews . Each system has its own feed quality and feeding system , which can influence the feed andenergy intake of the sheep and goats . The environment , management system , and socio / economic living of the nomads alsoaffect the NPS (Badjian , ２００５) .Results and Discussions Sheep , ages ６ to １２ months were weighed monthly during the three year trial period ; measured datawere used to compare with simulated data . Results show that the simulated grow ths of male and female lambs are in closeagreement with the actual grow th of the TG lambs used for comparison . The simulated average daily gain ( ADG) of the malelamb was ０ .０３ kg / day whereas the actual mean ADG of TG male lambs at ages between ６‐１２ months old were ０ .０２ kg / day .The simulated ADG of female lambs was ０ .０２ kg / day , whereas the actual mean ADG of TG female lambs at a similar age was０ .０１ kg / day . No significant differences were observed between the mean values of the actual and simulated live weights of ewesand lambs (male and female) when tested with the Student t‐Test , showing that the models used are well fitted to the realconditions of the system . Based on the actual data of TG ewes at an age of ３ .５ years , the initial body weights were consideredat the beginning of three stages , a) only lactation (１１１ days) , b) dry period (１０３ days) , and c) pregnancy (１５１ days) .Conclusions TG sheep used to provide the actual data in this study is the same breed that is used by nomads in their herds . TheStudent t‐Test was used to analyze and compare the actual and simulated live body weight changes of the male and female lambsand ewes . The results showed no statistical difference between the actual and simulated data . Differences at specific points didoccur , but the magnitude of the differences was not large . More importantly , the simulations followed the trends of the actualdata , describing the effects of the various physiological stages of the animals and the effects of the different feeding systems .These results validate the generalized structure of the energy utilization models of grazing sheep under production sub‐systemsof NPS . These results will enable the prediction of carrying capacities in any given situation under conditions similar to those inBakkan .ReferencesBadjian , G .R . , ２００５ . Impact of Nomadic settlement on the ecology of Rangeland and Livestock in the Bakkan region ofSouthern Iran . Ph .D . Thesis , Universiti Putra Malaysia .Eilami , B . , １９９９ . Recognition of Torki Ghashghaii sheep in Fars province . Fars research center f or natural resources andanimal af f airs . I ran ( in Persian language) .Emadi , M .H . , １９９５ . Pastoralists , Participation and Policy : an action oriented , systemic and participatory approach toimprove the relationships between Pastoralist Nomads , government and natural resources in Iran . Ph .D . Thesis , Universityo f Western Sydney , H awkesbury , A ustralia . pp ３５４ .

Modelling the Effect of Rangeland Management on Livestock Production System of Nomads in Southern Iran

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Modelling the Effect of Rangeland Management on Livestock Production System of Nomads in Southern Iran

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