Ganadería en pastizales naturales del Chaco Seco: ¿Cambia la vegetación herbácea entre dos pastizales con distintas presiones de pastoreo?

Patricio Cowper-Coles; Carolina B. Trigo; María S. Andrade-Díaz; Carlos Gómez; Andrés Tálamo

doi:10.25260/EA.24.34.3.0.2319

Authors

Patricio Cowper-Coles Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, (FCA UNNE). Corrientes, Argentina
Carolina B. Trigo Laboratorio de Ecología Aplicada a la Conservación (LEAC), Facultad de Cs. Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta
María S. Andrade-Díaz Modelling Human-Environmental Interactions Group, Institute of Geography-Freie Universität Berlin
Carlos Gómez Laboratorio de Ecología Aplicada a la Conservación (LEAC), Facultad de Cs. Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta. Universidad Católica de Salta (UCASAL). Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta -Jujuy (CCT), Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)
Andrés Tálamo Laboratorio de Ecología Aplicada a la Conservación (LEAC), Facultad de Cs. Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino (IBIGEO), Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) y Universidad Nacional de Salta (UNSa). Universidad Católica de Salta (UCASAL)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.24.34.3.0.2319

Keywords:

paleochannels, disturbance, richness, composition, productivity

Abstract

Livestock grazing represents the largest land use globally and causes impacts that vary according to intensity, evolutionary history and local environmental conditions. In the Dry Chaco, many grasslands were altered, modifying the cover of the species that make up the grasslands, which was significantly reduced in recent years due to inadequate livestock management. The aim of this study was to determine the possible effect of grazing on the herbaceous plant community, for which we estimated and compared the species richness, plant cover of palatable species, species composition and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of grasslands with different intensities of livestock use in Copo National Park. We selected two natural grasslands with different grazing pressures (high and low grazing pressure) and two sites per grassland on five different dates (two dry seasons and three wet seasons). The results showed that there were no statistical differences of the grazing pressures evaluated in the richness and species composition or in the ANPP. However, there were statistically significant differences (P=0.0009) in the cover of palatable species, which was higher in low-pressure grasslands. These changes are associated with an increase in the cover of annual, woody, toxic or unpalatable species in the high-pressure grassland, altering the plant community without changing richness or species composition. On the other hand, ANPP was not significantly affected by different pressures, possibly due to the higher cover of aibe (Elionurus muticus), which is not consumed by cattle in advanced phenological stages. Therefore, the lack of changes in richness, composition and ANPP suggests compatibility between livestock grazing and conservation of the protected area, although monitoring of the cover of palatable species in grasslands under high pressure from livestock use is recommended to avoid degradation.

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