In recent years the utilization rate of renewable resources especially the pressure of livestock grazing has increased. Uncontrolled livestock grazing has caused reduction of quantity and quality of forage, therefore, studying the effects of exclosure on vegetation changes is very important. In this research, the effects of exclosure on vegetation changes of Sahand Rangelands were studied during 2001 to 2006. The vegetation changes were investigated inside and outside the exclosure area, using fixed transects. The results showed that total canopy cover and canopy cover of perennial grasses including Agropyrum trichophorum ،Bromus tomentellus ،Dactylis glomerata and Festuca ovina increased significantly inside the exclosure area (P<0.01). In terms of palatability, class I species increased significantly (P<0.01). Cirsium haussknechtii, one of the important invasive species of the area, decreased significantly inside the exclosure area. There was no significant changes on total canopy cover of outside of the exclosure area. Canopy cover of perennial grasses and perennial forbs decreased (P<0.05) and shrubs canopy cover increased (P<0.01). Class I species decreased and class III species increased in outside of the exclosure area but it was not statistically significant. Canopy cover of Cirsium haussknechtii increased in outside of the exclosure area (P<0.05). No significant changes of soil organic matter were detected inside and outside of the exclosure area during six years.

In order to calculate the grazing capacity in range management plans is nessoceary to be aware about daily metabolizable energy requirement of livestock in Rangelands at different climatic zone. In this regard, daily metabolizable energy requirement of Ghezel sheep in Sahand mountain Rangelands were studied. According to the average values of forage quality indexs in plant species and their proportion in the composition of rangeland vegetation in different growth stages, metabolizable energy value in one kilogram of dry matter for livestock grazing Rangelands was estimated and considering of daily metabolizable energy required of Ghezel sheep in Sahand mountain Rangelands, amount of forage which supplies animal requirements in different stages of growth, were estimated. Daily requirement of ram, ewe and lambs of Ghezel sheep based on metabolizable energy, according to the MAFF equation (1984) proposed in the state of maintenance and livestock grazing in rangeland and considering the physical characteristics of the Rangelands, intervals of animal drinking places, plants density and 60% additive coefficient, were calculated 14.25, 18.82 and 10.75 Mj respectively. According to the results, amount of forage required to provide the daily requirements ram, ewe and lambs of Ghezel sheep considering the forage quality of Rangelands in 2008, in the initial stages of growth respectively is 1.61, 2.13 and 0.93; in the middle of stages growth respectively is 1.83, 2.42 and 1.06 and in the final stages of growth is 2.24, 2.96 and 1.30 Kilograms of dry forage. The amount of forage for 2009 in the initial stages of growth is 1.57, 2.08 and 0.91; in the middle of stages growth is 1.73, 2.28 and 1.00 and in the final stages of growth is 2.23, 2.94 and 1.29 Kilograms. Also, amount of forage required to provide the daily requirements ram, ewe and lambs of Ghezel sheep considering the forage quality of Rangelands in 2010, in the initial stages of growth is 1.55, 2.04 and 0.90, respectively; in the middle of stages growth is 1.82, 2.40 and 1.06 and in the final stages of growth is 2.23, 2.94 and 1.29 Kilograms of dry forage, respectively. This implies that time grazing affects on the daily requirements of livestock and needed those daily requirements to be determined according to forage quality in of each stage. Obviously, depending on the conditions years it may some be changed quality of the forage plants but since the determination of forage quality is expensive, the results obtained can be used to estimate daily requirement use of livestock in the different years.

Appropriate use of natural resources services and its protection are required to achieve sustainable agriculture and rural development. Sustainability is a concept focusing on preservation of capitals (anthropogenic, natural, social and economic) to satisfy intergenerational requirements. Developing appropriate sustainability indices are required for goal setting, planning and assessing management practices. The impacts of projects can be assessed using appropriate sustainability indices. The gaps in this area caused formulation of many development plans without acceptable outcomes. The present research aims to introduce and validate social sustainability assessment indices for Sahand summer Rangelands. These indices can be used by practitioners and natural resource researchers to assess their social sustainability. Eighty-seven social sustainability indices were formulated and approved by experts. Descriptive analysis and Kruskal– Wallis tests were used to validate the collected data. The indices with the mode, median and mean greater than 3, standard error of less than 1 and CV less than 0. 3 were selected and approved by experts. Fifty out of 87 indices were extracted and presented in form of 13 components. These indices have the capability to be used for assessing and evaluating social sustainability among ranchers in the study area.

Evaluation of environmental-ecological sustainability is considered as one of the most important tools in sustainable development planning process. Therefore, attention to this issue is inevitable in policy-making and planning. There are no definite indices in relation to assessing environmental-ecological sustainability in Rangelands and range allotments. Consequently, developing and validating of environmental sustainability evaluation indices in order to assessing sustainability in range allotments seem to be necessary. In the present study, 40 assessing indices of environmental-ecological sustainability were studied through exploratory interviews and literature review and then were subjected to the judgment of university professionals, experts and local elites using questionnaires. For validation and consensus, in addition to descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used. Indices like animal diversity, visual quality, sonic pollution level and air pollution level received low scores due to lack of suitability with rangeland allotments in regional scale. Among the indices, the highest and lowest scores were related to rangeland area and air pollution level, respectively. In the present study, 16 indices, as six components, were introduces, which could be a start point for developing a national model of evaluating sustainability indices, creating database of sustainability indices and quantifying them for obtaining sustainable development in natural resources, especially Rangelands. Also, executive organizations could apply these indices for improving Rangelands and beneficiaries' condition as well as moving toward sustainability.

Identification of plant characteristics in response to various ecological condition is essential for understanding vegetation dynamics. Verbascum speciosum is one of the most important medicinal species for infectious diseases. This species is spread in Rangelands of Iran and especially in Azerbaijan. This study aimed to evaluate the ecological and morphological characteristics of V. speciosum in four range places in Sahand Mountain. A systematic random method was used to collect vegetation and soil data. Six transects with a length of 100 meters were established in each place and the vegetation data were collected from 60 plots with a size of one square-meter, placed along each transect. Structural and biomass characteristics of ten plant species of one year and two years old were recorded in each range place. Redundancy analysis (RDA) as a linear method was used to investigate the relationships between species characteristics and environmental factors. According to the results, various environmental factors affect biomass and structural characteristics of the species. Results indicated that as altitude increases and consequently temperatures decreases, the structural characteristics of one-year-old of V. speciosum decreased. Increasing soil moisture and decreasing oil lime content lead to an increase in the structural characteristics of one year old of the species. Two-years old species had better structural and biomass performance in places with lower elevation and sandy soil texture compared to the one-year-old of the species. The importance of structural and biomass characteristics varied based on the species application for different purposes. The structural and biomass characteristics of V. speciosum are correlated to each other positively. Measuring these characteristics are required for quantifying functional diversity of Rangelands.

Background and objectives: Despite implementing rangeland plans, several reports on unfavorable condition of rangeland management are published. This indicates that the pressure on the rangeland is higher than their capacity. Their exploitation did not comply with the scale of its production and not equal to the scientific criteria (Mohamadi et al., 2007). Therefore, the description of the services of rangeland management plans should be revised. During the rangeland’s technical evaluation and issuing livestock grazing license, it paid special attention to the number of herders and suitable rangeland area required by each herder. It is believed that determining the optimal number of livestock is the most important management decision in the production and economy of pastoral units. This decision is very complex and depends on different criteria. Recognizing the costs and revenues of pastoral units for short and long-term planning of rangeland manager and government sectors is important in the basic use and maintenance of rangeland ecosystems. Methodology: Evaluation and economic analysis of traditional rangeland-based livestock husbandry in pastoral units of Sahand Rangelands was the aim of the study. Through stratified random sampling method 45 pastoral units were selected. Finally, the economic evaluation questionnaire was randomly completed by 205 utilizers. Expenses and incomes and Net present value and Cost-benefit ratios of traditional animal husbandry in pastoral units of Sahand Rangelands were extracted using questionnaire information. Also, economic rent and expected value from the perspective of Livestock Husbandry and forage production for the mentioned Rangelands were calculated. The economic rent is the annual economic profit obtained from selling one product per unit area. Economic rent is calculated by subtracting explicit and hidden costs from the gross income and dividing the resulting value by the surface area. the expected value of each hectare of the investigated rangeland in terms of rangeland-based animal husbandry was determined by dividing the value of the economic rent by the Real discount rate. For calculations related to the economic justification of traditional livestock husbandry in pastoral units of Sahand Rangelands, two indices of net present value of profit (NPV) and benefit to cost ratio (BCR) have been used. In the following equation, t is the useful life of the livestock husbandry period, B and C are the profit and cost of livestock husbandry in each year, i is the discount rate and n is the number of years. Results: Results showed that the utilizers of pastoral units of Sahand Rangelands have an average of 85. 19 hectares of Rangelands and the average number of livestock for each utilizer in these Rangelands is 277. Annually, each utilizer in traditional livestock spends 1994. 14 million rials, most of which is related to the supply of feed and manual feeding of livestock. The total income of each operator during the year was an average of 2697. 38 million rials, the major part of which is related to the sale of livestock. Economic benefit per utilizer in summer Rangelands is 1704. 38 million Rials. In the winter sector, the economic loss was estimated at 539. 10 million Rials per utilizer. The economic rent of exploiting the pastoral units of Sahand Rangelands for animal husbandry was estimated at 8. 26 million Rials per hectare and the expected value of these Rangelands was 1. 53 million Rials per hectare. According to the results of economic justification,In the scenario with a discount rate of 14%, there is 2. 712 million Rials and in the scenario with a discount rate of 18%, there is an economic loss of 2. 928 million Rials per utilizer. The Cost-benefit ratio in the scenario with a discount rate of 14% was 0. 79 and in the scenario with a discount rate of 18% was estimated 0. 76, which indicates the economic loss of rangeland-based livestock husbandry units in the pastoral units of Sahand Rangelands. Conclusion: Financial analysis of Traditional Rangeland-based Livestock Husbandry units can provide the necessary information and guidance to the country's rangeland managers and can also be used in the planning and macroeconomic policies of the country as well as the management of Rangeland-based Livestock. In order to achieve the desired economic profitability and reduce livestock pressure on Rangelands, the priority of the bureau of Rangeland Affairs should be the preparation of economic rangeland management plans. To achieve this, it is necessary to reduce the costs of livestock breeding by using new technologies and to make rangeland management as an economic activity by using multi-purpose use of Rangelands. Cheaper rangeland management, empowerment of rangeland owners and increasing their welfare are the three basic preconditions for economic rangeland management and prevention of rangeland destruction.

Nowadays, the economic sustainability is recognized as the vital element in retention of rural and nomadic populations. It is necessary to apply targeted instruments and indices for assessing economic sustainability. This study, carried out in 2014, aimed at preparing and validating the evaluation indices of economic sustainability in rangeland units of Sahand mountainous area. Firstly, 59 economic sustainability assessment indices were formulated and judged through questionnaire forms by academic specialist, administrative experts and local elites. To validate and take a consensus as well as descriptive data, Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used and then, those indices with mode, median and mean greater than 3, SD less than 1 and CV less than 0.3 were selected, providing consensus of experts, specialist and local elites. In this research, the 30 indices uphold by the experts, specialists and endemic elites were introduced in framework of 8 components which mangers and programmers of natural resources especially rangeland ones could use in evaluation and assessment of economic sustainability of rangeland units.

Due to the decreasing trend of Rangelands, many native species are vulnerable and even at risk of extinction. Therefore, seed preservation and propagation of native species of Rangelands and recognition of the characteristics of grazing, drought tolerance and their production potential are very beneficial. In this study, the five species of Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Bromus tomentellus, Alopecurus textilis and Thymus kotschyanus, which are the key species of Sahand Rangelands in Eastern Azerbaijan province, were studied. Treatments in each block included four grazing intensities, namely 25%, 50%, 75% and the control (no harvesting). The harvest was performed during the growing season and at the beginning of the grazing season for four years (2007-2010). Results of statistical analysis showed that the effect of harvesting intensity, year and intensity by year interaction were significant for forage production of F. rubra, B. tomentellus and A. textilis (p<0. 01). However, the effect of year and intensity for T. kotschyanus and the effect of year for F. ovina were not significant. Results showed that forage production of species was different in years. Higher forage production in 75% harvest intensity was obtained in B. tomentellus, F. rubra and A. textilis with average values of 15. 8, 18. 1 and 16. 7 g/p, respectively. In latter species, forage production was much affected by climate changes rather than the harvest intensity. The highest forage production of F. ovina was obtained in light harvest. Increasing the harvest intensity may decline plant vitality. It was recommended that allowable grazing intensity of Sahand rangeland might be 25% up to 50% harvesting intensity for preserving these species.

It is important to determine the suitability of Rangelands for the utilization of medicinal plants. The purpose of this study was to introduce some of the criteria and indicators, influencing the Rangelands suitability for medicinal plants exploitation and to investigate the differences between the results of using different approaches of suitability determination. To this end, the suitability of the Arshad Chaman rangeland was evaluated in terms of the utilization of medicinal plants. The results showed that according to the limiting factor method (a common method of determining the suitability of Rangelands), 2, 6 and 77 percent of Rangelands had respectively good, moderate and low suitability and 15 percent were not suitable for utilization. The mathematical method (using hierarchical analysis process) showed 4, 26, and 45 percent of the Rangelands as good, moderate, and low suitability, respectively, and 25 percent as inappropriate for exploitation. The application of the theoretical method (MSMPE) also showed that 39 and 61 percent of the Rangelands had respectively good and moderate suitability. In general, it was observed that there were no significant differences between the classes of suitability obtained by the limiting factor and the mathematical methods; however, there was a difference between the classes obtained by the limiting factor and MSMPE methods, and different classes of suitability were obtained for a given area of rangeland in these three methods. Therefore, it is recommended to test the accuracy of the findings of the present study to achieve a practical result in different years in terms of climatic events and other locations with different physical properties. Overall, based on the combined results of different approaches and in terms of physical and environmental constraints, the study area had low suitability for the exploitation of medicinal plants. Therefore, to reduce the livestock pressure on Rangelands and increase the diversity of medicinal plants, more attention should be paid to the other aspects of rangeland use such as beekeeping and free tourism.