Determining effective socio-economic factors in rangeland degradation: A case study of Tehran province, Iran

Abstract

The research was conducted to determine effective socioeconomic factors in the degradation of rangeland. Range condition of the study area was compared during 1955 and 2005. Different data sources were used, analyzed and interpreted. Findings showed that decrement of forage production were higher in mountainous rangelands than plain areas. In plain areas, land use change in rangeland to civil and agricultural lands was identified as the most important destructive factor. There was an inverse relationship between the size of ranchers’ agricultural areas and the rate of rangeland degradation.