Journal of Rangeland

This study aimed to investigate the effects of beneficiaries' social condition on ecological sustainability of allotments, utilized by Shahsavan nomads in summer rangelands of Sabalan Mountain, Ardabil province. Random sampling method was used to collect data from 58 beneficiaries based on Cochran's formula. The collected social data were age, utilization history, educational status and the number of persons that their expenditures are covered by one beneficiary. Ten indicators were selected to evaluate the ecological sustainability in the study area. According to the results, there was no significant relationship between educational status and sustainability index because the majority of the people (82%) had low or no education background. According to the results, there were significant relationships between family members and experience of herd management with sustainability index (p ˂ 0. 01). ANOVA test showed that there were significant differences between the sustainability of range allotments and the utilization history (F= 13.27 and p≤0.001). This study revealed that more range sustainability can be achieved in range allotments with longer utilization history.