Angeli, L.

Pardini, Andrea

Peduzzi, F.

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress The Perception of Management Needs in Bolivian Rural Communities Andrea Pardini University of Florence‐Piazzale Cascine, Italy L. Angeli University of Florence‐Piazzale Cascine, Italy F. Peduzzi University of Florence‐Piazzale Cascine, Italy Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/17-1/23 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]877　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands People and Policies——— People in Grasslands/RangelandsThe perception of management needs in Bolivian rural communitiesPardini A . , A ngeli L . , Peduz z i F .University o f Florence‐Piaz z ale Cascine , 18‐50144 Firenze ( I ) andrea .pardini＠ uni f i .itKey words : grazing technique , Social Analysis System , pasture conservationIntroduction Pastures and rangelands are the largest part of Latin American agricultural land , but they are unfortunately sownafter forest destruction that causes negative environmental impact . The rapid and excessive change of vegetation enhancessensibility to environmental factors and contributes to social disequilibrium and economical instability ( FAO , ２００６ ) . Cropdiversification and association , including association of pasture and trees , are considered useful methods to sustain productivityand to conserve biological diversity . The management of complex vegetation is expensive , moreover results are visible only afterseveral years , the slow changes reduce the perception of improvements in the rural ( Pardini et al . , ２００６) . A research has beendone in Santa Cruz de la Sierra , area of Ciquitania , on agreement of the University of Florence and the Fundacion para laconservacion del Bosque Ciquitano in order to verify the request of improvements and the perception of the results in the farmersof the area .Materials and methods We chose ３５ farms of the area , representative of all the size typologies . The farmers were interviewedwith SAS method ( Social Analysis System ) and the results shown on �wheel" figures following the method of Chevalier(２００４) . Each wheel includes ５ rays (１ ＝ grazing system ; ２ ＝ forages in the dry season ; ３ ＝ trees associated in pastures ; ４＝ pasture productivity ; ５ ＝ management of native pasture) , and the perception of technical‐management level reached has ５indexes shown on each ray (５ highest , １ minimum) .Results and discussion Our results on grazing techniques show that rotational grazing is the most frequent and farmers are happywith this ( ray １ , level ４) , however they consider more fencing useful to control better the movement and the effect of livestockon pasture , moreover there is need of more watering points in all sectors . There is not forage stock for the dry season and thisis considered badly (２ , １ ) , some standing hay can be available in farms but farmers would prefer to have good hay or silages .There are few trees in pastures and the farmers would prefer to plant more (３ , １) but this is not done due to initial costs and tothe long times necessary for returns . Pasture productivity is considered good and farmers would not consider fertilization orsowing (４ , ４) that , however , would increase costs and reduce biodiversity and make farmers dependent over imported selectedseed . The management of native ( naturalized) pastures is considered sufficient (５ , ３) but farmers would like to improve it withperimeter fencing to increase the rate of pasture ingestion .Conclusions We conclude that farmers consider good the current pasture management even if this can be improved with seasonaladjustments of the animal stocking rates in better fenced sectors , that would benefit also of new watering points . Farmersconsider good the current annual productivity , nonetheless there is seasonal shortage that should be faced with in‐farm producedstocks . T ree planting ( scattered , in rows , as windbreaks) is highly considered but this has to be supported by local authoritieswith free plants of １‐２ years and free shelter . More in general , the farmers of the are oriented to introduce cheap improvementsthat cause little environmental impact and they would like to increase the complexity in the forage‐pasture system planting treesand conserving native plants . These interventions will determine gradual improvement of the annual and seasonal pastureproductivity and consequently of animal performances , probably slow ly but at the same time good to conserve biodiversity .ReferencesChevalier J . , ２００４ . S .A .S . Social Analysis System . http :/ / www .sas‐pm .com/ guidelines/ guideline ＿ principles .htm . １５March ２００４ .Pardini A . ,Peduzzi F . ,Staglianò N . ,Pinzi S . ,Angeli L . ,Argenti G . ,２００６ . Influence of tree density on the botanicalcomposition of pastures in Santa Cruz , Bolivia . Proc . IV Latin American Agroforestry congress . Cuba , Oct . ２００６ ,published on CD ( ISBN ９５９ １６ ０４７８ ５) .

The Perception of Management Needs in Bolivian Rural Communities

https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3759&context=igc

The Perception of Management Needs in Bolivian Rural Communities

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Kentucky