South American Dry Chaco rangelands: Positive effects of cattle trampling and transit on ecohydrological functioning

• Autores: Magliano, Patricio Nicolás; Breshears, David D.; Murray, Francisco; Niborski, Marcos Javier; Nosetto, Marcelo Daniel; Zou, Chris B.; Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel
• Año de publicación: 2022
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Ecological Applications : 1-57 (First published: 22 December 2022)
• Materia: Ganado Bovino; Tierras de Pastos; Pisoteo; Desertificación; Cambio de Uso de la Tierra; Escorrentia; Cattle; Rangelands; Trampling; Desertification; Land Use Change; Runoff; Región Chaco Arido
• Institución: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

Livestock production in drylands requires consideration of the ecological applications of ecohydrological redistribution of water. Intensive cattle trampling and the associated increase of surface runoff are common concerns for rangeland productivity and sustainability. Here, we highlight a regional livestock production system in which cattle trails and trampling surrounding an artificial impoundment are purposely managed to enhance redistribution and availability of water for cattle drinking. Based on literature synthesis and field measurements, we first describe cattle production systems and surface water redistribution in the Dry Chaco rangelands of South America, and then develop a conceptual framework to synthesize the ecohydrological impacts of livestock production on these ecosystems. Critical to this framework is the pioshere—an degraded overgrazed and overtrampled area where vegetation has difficulties to grow, usually close to the water points. The Dry Chaco rangelands have three key distinctive characteristics associated with the flat sedimentary environment lacking fresh groundwater and the very extensive ranching conditions: (i) cattle drinking water is provided by artificial impoundments filled by runoff, (ii) heavy trampling around the impoundment and its adjacent areas generates a piosphere that favors runoff towards the impoundment, and (iii) the impoundment, piosphere, and extensive forage areas are hydrologically connected with a network of cattle trails. We propose an ecohydrological framework where cattle transit and trampling alter the natural water circulation of these ecosystems, affecting small fractions of the landscape through increased runoff (compaction in piosphere and trails), surface connectivity (convergence of trails to piosphere to impoundment) and ponding (compaction of the impoundment floor) that operate together making water harvesting and storage possible. These effects have likely generated a positive water feedback on the expansion of livestock in the region with a relatively low impact on forage production. We highlight the role of livestock transit as a geomorphological agent capable of reshaping the hydrology of flat sedimentary rangelands in ways that can be managed positively for sustainable ranching systems. We suggest that the Dry Chaco offers an alternative paradigm for rangelands in which cattle trampling may contribute to sustainable seminatural production systems with implications for other dry and flat rangelands of the world.
EEA San Luis
Fil: Magliano, Patricio N. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales-IMASL. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Magliano, Patricio N. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Departamento de Biología; Argentina
Fil: Magliano, Patricio N. University of Arizona. School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Breshears, David D. University of Arizona. School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Estados Unidos
Fil: Murray, Francisco. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Luis. Agencia de Extensión Rural San Luis; Argentina
Fil: Niborski, Marcos J. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales-IMASL. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Niborski, Marcos J. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Cátedra de Manejo y Conservación de Suelos; Argentina
Fil: Nosetto, Marcelo D. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales-IMASL. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Nosetto, Marcelo D. Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Cátedra de Climatología; Argentina
Fil: Zou, Chris B. Oklahoma State University. Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management; Estados Unidos
Fil: Jobbágy, Esteban G. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Grupo de Estudios Ambientales-IMASL. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina