Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization

Rangelands

Total area of Iran's rangelands is about 84.8 million ha. The available forage for the grazing is sufficient for feeding 37 million animal units for 7 months period while 83 million of animal units are currently grazing over rangelands. 

The rangelands in Iran are classified into three cover classes:

Rangelands are also categorized based on their time of grazing as follows:

- Alpine or summer grazing rangelands

In alpine rangelands, cold weather causes the growing season of plants to start late compared with plants in lower areas. The alpine rangelands with approximately an area of 23 m.ha produce 6.21 million tons allowed dry matter (DM) equal to 3.415 million tons total digestible nutrients (TDN).

- Lowland or winter grazing rangelands

Unlike the alpine rangelands that enjoy cold weather in summer, these rangelands are located in the lower altitudes, where the weather is warmer and somewhat hotter in summer and plants start their growth from late winter, when the weather is warm enough. Part of these rangelands are located in very low areas making conditions so hot in summer that livestock are unable to tolerate the conditions due primarily to insufficient forage and secondly the scarcity of water during summer time. The area of winter rangelands is estimated to be about 61 million hectares and they produce 4.49 million tons allowed dry matter (DM), equal to 2.470 million tons TDN in normal years.