This study would mark the potential role of grazing by Podolian cattle for reducing fuel
load of fire prevention and propagation. The interconnection of Geographic Information
System (GIS) and livestock field survey allowed to monitor different grazing and nograzing
areas in Basilicata region.
Fifteen grazing areas were monitored for five years during the summer pasture, when the
Podolian cattle graze on green grazing areas. These areas were monitored by using GIS
system and GPS application. The potential impact of Podolian cattle was monitored for
the same time period. The cattle consistency allowed to calculate different parameters:
livestock unit, dry matter intake and stocking estimation of potential amount of dry matter
intake to understand the removal biomass in order to reduce the fuel load for fire
prevention.
The spatial analysis (GIS) showed that there were only four grazing areas burned during
the time sampling, compared to the surrounding areas used as control (no-grazing area).
Therefore an efficient management of grazing by Podolian cattle could be an important
tool to prevent the fire propagation
