Rangelands

Iran's rangelands are both ecological systems and working landscapes. Their significance lies in the relationship between vegetation, livestock and the people who organize access to grazing. A country brief by researchers associated with Gorgan University and Cenesta describes pastoral systems adapted to mountainous terrain and strongly varying weather. It distinguishes mobile, semi-mobile and sedentary forms of pastoralism rather than treating all livestock keepers as nomads. s1

For mobile and transhumant herders, access to different pastures is fundamental. Transhumance means recurring seasonal movement between grazing areas, often linking lowland winter territory with upland summer pasture. Other movements connect different lowland areas or combine rangeland use with crop residues. A migration route is therefore part of the production system, not merely the space between its destinations. s1

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Research in northeastern Iran illustrates why a single national description of grazing damage is inadequate. A study published in Ecology and Evolution compared vegetation and soils under contrasting grazing intensities across arid, semiarid and subhumid settings. Both climate and grazing influenced the measured ecological properties, and their interaction mattered. s2

The researchers examined functional traits: characteristics such as plant height, leaf area and seed mass that help explain how vegetation responds to disturbance. Intensive grazing was associated with shorter plant communities and shifts in the representation of these traits. Some responses differed between climatic regions. The practical implication is that similar-looking grazing pressures need not produce identical vegetation changes everywhere. s2

This also changes what counts as evidence of recovery. A greener surface alone cannot describe every ecological response. Species composition, plant characteristics and soil properties provide different information. The study supports protection from excessive grazing as a management tool, while its regional design limits direct extrapolation to every Iranian rangeland. s2

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The pastoralism brief reports that land-use change and development have fragmented customary territories and migration routes. It argues for recognizing pastoralists' land-use rights and involving them in decisions. This is a clearly stated community-rights perspective, useful for understanding why management cannot be reduced to livestock numbers alone. Losing access to an alternative pasture can change the choices available to a household even when its herd has not grown. s1

The brief also warns that inconsistent definitions and disputed livestock estimates complicate national accounting. Its statistics should consequently be read with their original reference periods and categories, rather than presented as a current annual inventory. A count of mobile pastoralists, for example, does not automatically count everyone whose livelihood depends on rangelands. s1

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In June 2026, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations identified drought, climate change, land degradation and unsustainable land use as pressures on rangelands. Its Iran statement emphasized watershed functions, livestock production and rural livelihoods, and called for restoration alongside sustainable land and water management and community participation. s3

That statement establishes an institutional priority; it does not measure the success of restoration. Assessing outcomes requires observations of vegetation and soils, together with evidence about access, implementation and local livelihoods. Read together, the research and pastoralism brief suggest a useful approach: investigate the conditions of each landscape, identify the pressures actually operating there, and evaluate management against documented changes rather than a uniform national assumption. s1s2s3

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