Arquetipos Funcionales de Pastizal: Recuperando el eslabón perdido de la evaluación de pastizales en la Patagonia

Marcos H. Easdale; Daniel A. Castillo; María V. L. Aramayo; Mario E. Sello; Fernando Umaña; Rafael A. Maddio; Daiana V. Perri; Clara Fariña; Octavio A. Bruzzone

doi:10.25260/EA.24.34.2.0.2238

Authors

Marcos H. Easdale Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB, INTA-CONICET). San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Daniel A. Castillo
María V. L. Aramayo Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, INTA-EEA Bariloche. San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Mario E. Sello Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB, INTA-CONICET). San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Fernando Umaña Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, INTA-EEA Bariloche. San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Rafael A. Maddio Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB, INTA-CONICET). San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Daiana V. Perri Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB, INTA-CONICET). San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Clara Fariña Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB, INTA-CONICET). San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
Octavio A. Bruzzone Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche (IFAB, INTA-CONICET). San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.24.34.2.0.2238

Keywords:

arid regions, steppes, wetlands, livestock, pastoralism, adaptive management

Abstract

Rangeland assessment in the arid and semi-arid regions of Patagonia, Argentina, is a key tool both in livestock management and in environmental evaluations and monitoring of complex processes such as desertification and the impact of climate change. Although most rangeland assessment methods have assigned efforts to data resolution (field assessment plots) or information extension (landscape-scale classifications using remote sensing), the temporal variation of the vegetation has received less attention. It can be argued that the reasons for this deficit respond to the cost of carrying out field evaluations over time and/or to the short series of satellite data available until a couple of decades ago. However, a current advantage is that there are already more than 20 years of satellite data series, which opens up new possibilities to guide greater efforts in the study of the dynamics, that is, the temporal and spatiotemporal variability of the vegetation productivity. Our objective was to evaluate the application of a vegetation functional classification method, analyzing the complementation of information between structural and functional aspects of rangelands at a farm scale. In particular, we compared the results obtained by a classification of landscape units and physiognomy of vegetation and the results of a classification with a characterization of the dynamics of the vegetation productivity from the protocol that we have called Rangeland Functional Archetypes. The results emphasize the need to incorporate the dynamics of vegetation productivity as a classifying factor and not as a dependent variable of a previously defined structural classification. We discuss the potential and future steps to move forward in the integration of both approaches at the farm scale in the livestock systems of Patagonia, as a tool for a complementary structural and functional assessment of rangelands, oriented towards planning and adaptive management.

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