Determination of suitability of Erodibility in rangeland of Lassem of Haraz, North of Iran

ABSTRACT: Determination of the suitability of any rangeland region is one of the most important factors in its management. One of the influential elements in determining this suitability is the erodibility because grazing, especially on high slopes, not only requires more energy on the part of the stock to graze but also increases the risk of erosion. Grazing by stock in regions susceptible to erosion destroys the soil and the plant cover, and increases the land area faced with a crisis situation. In this research, the Pacific Southwest Inter – Agency Committee (PSIAC) method was used to evaluate soil erosion and sedimentation, and the method proposed by FAO was employed to determine land capacity using the Geographic Information system (GIS) in the four sub – regions (rangeland held in common) of the Lassem rangeland with a total area of 2971.486 hectares situated in the central part of the Alborz mountain range in the province of Mazandaran. Results obtained show that 25.3 percent of the rangeland enjoys the suitability class of S 1, and 74.7 percent the suitability class of S 2, and that no part of the rangeland is of the suitability class S 3 or of the unsuitable class N.