Interacción planta-animal en el contexto de sistemas productivos desarrollados en distintos ambientes ecológicos
Abstract
RESUMEN
El estudio de los factores que rigen los patrones espaciales de la distribución del pastoreo de los herbívoros domésticos es fundamental en la ecología y el manejo de los recursos naturales. Aunque los productores y profesionales realizan ajustes anuales o estacionales de la carga animal para influir en la preferencia animal por determinados ambientes de pastoreo y alcanzar un uso eficiente del recurso forrajero, el manejo de la distribución del ganado continúa siendo un gran desafío. La heterogeneidad de los ambientes de pastoreo tiene dimensión tanto espacial como temporal, lo cual impone desafíos en el entendimiento de los factores que influyen en las decisiones de selección de hábitat por parte del ganado. En esta contribución comenzamos revisando los modelos conceptuales actuales del comportamiento del ganado a grandes escalas. Luego, presentamos algunos resultados de estudios conducidos en diferentes ecosistemas contrastantes de Argentina y New Mexico (EEUU). Estos estudios desarrollados usando animales con y sin collares GPS contribuyen a mejorar gradualmente las decisiones de manejo de los pastizales. Finalmente, hacemos unas consideraciones breves relacionadas con el manejo del ganado en Ecuador que pueden contribuir a mejorar la sustentabilidad de los sistemas de producción ganaderos.
Palabras clave: Relación planta animal, heterogeneidad ambiental, modelos.
ABSTRACT
The study of factors that drive the spatial patterns and distribution of the grazing of domestic herbivores is central to the discipline of natural resource ecology and management. Although ranchers and rangeland professionals conduct annual or seasonal stocking rate adjustments to influence animal habitat preference and achieve efficient use of forage resource, the management of the distribution of livestock continues to be a major challenge. The heterogeneity of rangeland grazing environments has both spatial and temporal dimensions, which pose significant challenges to the understanding of the factors that drive livestock habitat selection decisions. The manuscript starts with a review of the current conceptual models of livestock foraging behavior at large spatial scale, whereafter some results of studies conducted in contrasting range biomes of Argentina and New Mexico (EEUU) are presented. In those studies the grazing behavior of animals with or without GPS-collars was monitored which contributed to a gradual improvement of grazing management decisions on rangelands. In the final section of the manuscript are briefly some considerations presented related with livestock management in Ecuador and the importance of the animal-plant interaction approach that we believe can contribute to improving the sustainability of livestock production systems.
Keywords: Plant-animal relationship, rangeland heterogeneity, models.
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