Forest Management with Integrated Livestock in Argentine Patagonia: methodological adjustment for determining the baseline in complex ecosystems and heterogeneous landscapes

Abstract

Forest Management with Integrated Livestock (MBGI, for its acronym in Spanish) is a technical proposal based on the management of forestry, livestock, forage and environmental components of a property articulated as a feasible farm plan. It requires a monitoring process of these different components within an adaptive management framework, and verification that planning meets the objectives of all dimensions of sustainability. It is necessary for the baseline characterization of the property, the determination of “Ecological Sites” (landscape units with similar types of soil, topography, hydrology, climate and vegetation, which are expected to respond in a similar way to disturbances and management) and their corresponding “Reference States” (condition of greater ecological integrity). The objective of this work is to generate a proposal for “expeditious sampling” of environmental/productive aspects of properties under MBGI. It aims at a holistic visualization of the key dynamics of Northern Patagonian forests and surrounding areas, allowing for their description, categorization and planning in less time compared to the currently available methodology.