Indicator Species for Rangeland Management by ANPDEMATEL Method (Case Study: Nahavand Rangeland

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.