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Characterization and typification of small ruminant farms providing fuelbreak grazing services for wildfire prevention in Andalusia (Spain)
Abstract
Several wildfire prevention programs in Spain are using grazing livestock to maintain fuelbreaks with low levels of biomass. Even though shepherds are remunerated for these services, many of their farms are hardly viable in the current socio-economic context. By analyzing 54 small ruminant farms participating in the Grazed Fuelbreak Network in Andalusia (southern Spain), this research aimed to identify the main types and characteristics of such farms and, considering the challenges they are facing, propose strategies to improve both their economic viability and their effectiveness in fuelbreak grazing. Based on data collected through a survey on key farm management aspects, a multivariate analysis was performed and four main types of farm were identified: two clusters of dairy goat farms and two composed mostly of meat-purpose sheep farms. Farms in all clusters could benefit from improvements in the feeding and reproductive management of livestock, either to enhance their productivity or to make better use of the pasture resources available. Dairy goat farms remain more dependent on external animal feed to ensure a better lactation, therefore they should either diminish their workforce costs per animal or sell transformed products directly to consumers to improve their economic viability. Best fuelbreak grazing results were related to larger flocks combining sheep and goats, lower ratios of fuelbreak surface area per animal, and longer (year-long) grazing periods on fuelbreaks. Therefore, such farm features and adjusted fuelbreak assignments should be favored in wildfire prevention programs using grazing services.
... These results differed from those reported in previous studies [19], possibly due to the decrease in the sheep population in Spain from 2013 to the present day [1]. Conversely, the high proportion of goat herds with fewer than 500 animals found in our survey was consistent with previous studies carried out in southern Spain [34,35]. Additionally, the distribution based on aptitude (meat production in sheep: 92.5% and exclusively milk production in goats) has been previously reported [1,18]. ...
... Additionally, the distribution based on aptitude (meat production in sheep: 92.5% and exclusively milk production in goats) has been previously reported [1,18]. As feeding type is associated with production modality, most sheep were fed with forage and concentrate, which is linked to extensive management [18,19,35], while the use of TMR is associated with dairy production, which has intensified in recent years [34,35]. Consistent with previous studies [18,35], the main activity of the farms surveyed in our study was dedicated exclusively to sheep, often with only a single species of livestock. ...
... Additionally, the distribution based on aptitude (meat production in sheep: 92.5% and exclusively milk production in goats) has been previously reported [1,18]. As feeding type is associated with production modality, most sheep were fed with forage and concentrate, which is linked to extensive management [18,19,35], while the use of TMR is associated with dairy production, which has intensified in recent years [34,35]. Consistent with previous studies [18,35], the main activity of the farms surveyed in our study was dedicated exclusively to sheep, often with only a single species of livestock. ...
Simple Summary
This study investigates the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminant farms (159 sheep and 39 goats) in southern Spain, a key area for the country’s livestock production. This research reveals that Eimeria spp. Is the most common parasitic infection, followed by Strongyles. Other parasites, like Moniezia spp., Trichuris spp., and D. dendriticum, are less prevalent but more common in sheep. This study also includes a survey on farmers’ management practices, highlighting that regular monitoring through coprological analyses is not common; veterinarians are seldom involved in deworming plans, and anthelmintic treatment is typically applied twice a year in sheep and once in goats. This report suggests that implementing certain management measures could potentially mitigate parasite infections. This constitutes the first report on the epidemiological status of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants in southern Spain.
Abstract
The primary population of small ruminants in Spain is concentrated in the southern region, a critical area for the country’s livestock production. Indirect economic losses can occur when this livestock is affected by gastrointestinal parasites. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of these parasites in small ruminant herds (159 sheep and 39 goats) through coprological analyses and conducted a survey on farmers’ management practices related to gastrointestinal parasite control. The survey results revealed some important aspects: monitoring through coprological analyses is not a common practice; veterinarians are not typically involved in deworming plans; anthelmintic treatment in adults is often applied twice a year in sheep and once a year in goats; and finally, drug rotation was higher in sheep farms. Coprological analyses showed Eimeria spp. as the most common parasitic infection, followed by Strongyles infection. Other parasites like Moniezia spp., Trichuris spp., and D. dendriticum were less important, although their prevalence was higher in sheep than goats. This constitutes the first report on the epidemiological status of gastrointestinal parasites in small ruminants in southern Spain. Based on the survey findings, the introduction of certain management measures on farms could potentially mitigate parasite infections.
... Society in Europe is increasingly concerned about en vironmental issues and sees this type of farming system as a tool to support land management. Actions are being taken to assign an economic value to this role, such as paying the farmer to reduce biomass fuel through grazing and thus con tribute to wildfire prevention [15,16]. The abandonment of rural areas is a common problem faced all over Europe, therefore anchoring the population is an ob jective pursued by the common agricultural policy and goat farming and all aspects related to this subsector have an es sential role to play and are to be reinforced as a priority issue [14]. ...
... The role played by goat farming in relation to the ecosys tem services it provides is well known, namely seed dispersal of Mediterranean species through endozoochory, litter decom position and balance between authochthonous and invasive species, and land conservation [37]. The presence of goats helps to manage the land, shape the landscape and reduce biomass fuel (Figure 3), among other benefits [15,16,37]. Furthermore, taking goats to pasture rather than keeping them indoors means that much less nonrenewable energy is used, for example in the production and transport of concentrates [38] and less net greenhouse gas emissions are produced due to increased carbon sequestration [39], one of the main challenges addressed in the EU Horizon 2020 programme. ...
... Another example of generating value through livestock eco system services lies in the use of grazing livestock systems to prevent wildfires. In European countries such as France and Spain, shepherds and goat herders are paid directly to use their animals to control biomass fuel in inaccessible areas, as it is cheaper than using traditional mechanical techniques to remove scrub and undergowth and is positively valued by society [16,43]. ...
The aim of this review is to show the evolution of the dairy goat sector in Europe from all perspectives. Starting from the current situation, the challenges and future potential of this livestock system are presented, as well as strategies to overcome the difficulties faced. Europe holds 1.9% of the world goat population and produces 15.1% of goat milk recorded worldwide. The goat species plays a fundamental economic, social and environmental role in many regions of Europe. The wide diversity of production systems and autochthonous breeds makes the sector very heterogeneous. In order to improve viability, a number of strategies need to be adopted to solve the current problems such as a low profitability, absence of generational change and a little or no recognition of the social and environmental role of the sector. Some strategies to improve the situation of the European goat sector include: i) generating market value that will recognise the diversity of the dairy goat sector (breeds, feeding models, derived products…); ii) promoting and raising awareness of the functional attributes of goat milk and derived products so as to increase consumption; iii) assigning an economic value to environmental and social functions; iv) improving working conditions through technological innovation to make goat farming more attractive to young people; and v) processing more milk into cheese or other dairy products in production areas.
... The RAPCA scheme has been the subject of a number of studies assessing its ecological performance [13,[19][20][21] or the typology of extensive farms involved in the program [22]. However, the institutional fitting of this initiative has been scarcely addressed, despite the fact that its continuity over time may be highly dependent on the interactions between the agents and institutions involved in the program. ...
... According to the contracts signed by the shepherds and the Department of Environment (DoE), the farmers are requested to achieve a consumption of 90% of the annual herbaceous growth and 75% of the annual shrub growth. Mena et al. [22] surveyed 54 small ruminant farms in the RAPCA network finding that on average, these shepherds were each assigned 38 ha of fuel breaks, at a mean distance of 3 km from their farms. Wildfire protection (prevention and suppression) can be considered a public good (showing features of non-excludability and non-rivalry) [86] and is often provided by the public administration as part of the general welfare system. ...
... Effectiveness achievements increase with herd size and with pasture availability in the vicinity [22]; small herds that need to move to different locations for pasture availability show more difficulties to meet biomass control targets. Importantly, the RAPCA program is one of the few cases of outcome-based mechanisms, hence ensuring its conditionality [36]. ...
Wildfires are one of the most prominent risks for Mediterranean forests, reducing the flow of ecosystem services and representing a hazard for infrastructure and human lives. Several wildfire prevention programs in southern Europe are currently incorporating extensive livestock grazers in fire prevention activities to reduce the high costs of mechanical clearance. Among these the Andalusian network of grazed fuel breaks, the so-called RAPCA program, stands out for its dimension and stability over time. RAPCA currently works with 220 local shepherds who, with their guided flocks maintain low biomass levels in almost 6000 ha of fuel breaks in public forests to meet fire prevention standards. This work analyses the institutional design and performance of the RAPCA payment scheme under a payment for environmental services (PES) framework. Results show effectiveness of the payment scheme while efficiency is achieved through savings relative to the mainstream mechanized biomass removal, as well as through reduced information asymmetry. High-level and stable political commitment has been crucial for the emergence and consolidation of RAPCA. Moreover, key intermediaries and sound monitoring practices increased levels of trust amongst involved actors. Beneficial side-effects include social recognition of shepherds’ activities and reduction of their friction with forest managers.
... Such gaps in knowledge can be uncovered by a characterisation exercise that can overcome the diversity in pastoral management (Agnoletti 2014; Ruiz et al. 2017). Characterisations are already common tools in the study of Spanish livestock systems at restricted scales (Pardos et al. 2008;Toro-Mujica et al. 2011;Mena et al. 2016;Díaz-Gaona et al. 2019;López-i-Gelats and Bartolomé Filella 2020;Ruiz et al. 2020;Serrano-Zulueta et al. 2023a). Moreover, some recent studies advance aspects of the characterisation of grazing systems at a broad level (Gómez Sal and Lorente 2004;Casas-Nogales and Manzano 2007;Sineiro García and Lorenaza Fernández 2008;San Miguel et al. 2016;Ruiz et al. 2017). ...
... In each box, the percentage of filled area indicates the number of times a characteristic was cited during the brainstormwriting in relation to the most cited one (mobility=30 times). (MAPA 2003;McAdam et al. 2009;López-i-Gelats et al. 2011;Ruiz and Beaufoy 2015;Gómez Sal 2017), economy (Ripoll-Bosch et al. 2014), management (Castel et al. 2010;Urivelarrea and Linares 2020;Provacuno 2022) or ecological dynamics (Montserrat and Fillat 1990;Ferrer and Broca 1999;Mena et al. 2016). ...
After centuries as a flagship economic activity, pastoralism in Spain is today in danger of collapse due to the simultaneous processes of abandonment and industrialisation. With a consensus on the need to revert this decline, a characterisation of pastoralism is needed in the design of an efficient framework for action. Through a participatory process with experts, we carried out this characterisation of Spanish pastoralism, identifying the most representative systems and communities. We studied the causes and consequences of pastoral evolution over the last 250 years, explained by biophysical, technological, governance and social parameters. We achieved a harmonised classification of eleven pastoral systems, classified into four groups with mobility parameters (large migratory systems, short-distance transterminance, daily mobile grazing and semi-wilderness). Large mobility systems were subdivided into ten pastoral communities, characterised by strong sociocultural ties beneath farm management. The consideration of pastoral systems and communities in policy can orient effective rural development, while optimising the allocation of resources for environmental conservation and climate neutrality.
This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .
... In order to achieve such recognition, the externalities of traditional livestock farming practices, such as conservation of the environment and maintenance of the rural population (Bernués et al., 2011;Sturaro et al., 2013;Beaufoy & Poux, 2014;Bernués et al., 2014), should be recognized and paid for, helping to increase the farms' profitability and favour generational replacement. An excellent example is the successful development of the Grazed Fuelbreak Network project in Andalusia (Spain) for the prevention of fire through grazing (Ruiz-Mirazo et al., 2011;Mena et al., 2016). This solution is especially interesting for C3 where sheep farming is relatively more important than in the other groups. ...
... Drinking points, shelters or fences may be beneficial and should be supported by the protected area management team. A strategy to overcome the lack of pastures is to manage reproduction so as to adapt the animals' greatest nutritional requirements to the season when most natural pasture is available Mena et al., 2016). This involves control of the mating periods, especially in C3. ...
Aim of study: To characterize and analyse the extensive livestock farming systems in environmental protected area and propose strategies for their sustainable improvement.
Area of study: Sierra Nevada Protected Area (Spain)
Material and methods: Data were collected from a sample of 85 farmers and 48 experts. The information from farmers was expressed in 35 variables, 23 of which were qualitative and 12 quantitative. A multivariate analysis was conducted.
Main results: The principal components explained 71.2% of the total variance and the k-means cluster analysis identified three groups: C1 (38 farms), medium-size farms with a predominance of goats and relative dairy specialization; C2 (12 farms), large-size farms with extensive grazing lands, a high proportion of meat purpose animals and managed by young and dynamic farmers and C3 (35 farms), medium-size farms with a high proportion of meat purpose animals and undeveloped business management. The main problems reported were: insufficient pastures for livestock, stagnation of product prices, lack of generational renewal and need for social recognition of livestock farming. These obstacles could be overcome by implementing measures aimed at improving feed self-sufficiency -and thus reduce production costs- increasing income through social recognition of farming, achieving product differentiation, and strengthening short marketing channels. This would be favoured by an increase in associationism and specialized training.
Research highlights: Farm management and marketing are important for improve these farming systems. The extensive livestock farming continues to be an important activity in European protected mountain areas.
... The Use and Management Regulation of the NPSG indicates that OF will have preference in the use of public surfaces (grasslands and forests) [27]. What is more, grazing livestock provides services for wildfire prevention [28] and there is traditional shepherding knowledge of livestock management in the area that facilitates easy conversion to OF [29]. However, this NP is characterized by hilly terrains and adverse climatic conditions for agricultural production (seasonality of rainfall, extreme temperatures) and a high inter-year variability in grass production. ...
... This could be evidence for the current tendency of dairy farms to rapid intensification [54]. In general, extensive dairy goat farms are more dependent on feed for a better milk yield, therefore they should either reduce their workforce costs or better sell their products [28], whether directly transformed, organically certified or both. ...
This paper describes the typological characterization of the Natural Park Sierra de Grazalema (NPSG) livestock farms using its communal pastures (N = 23, 100% of population) in order to study their sustainability from 160 technical, economic and social variables (from direct on-farm data collection). A principal components analysis (PCA) produced four principal components related to size, livestock species, main productions and intensification level, explaining 73.6% of the variance. The subsequent cluster analysis classified the farms into four groups: C1 (medium size farms without sheep), C2 (large size and very extensive farms), C3 (farms with multipurpose sheep) and C4 (farms with dairy goat and without cattle). Forty-eight-point-seven percent of the surface was registered as organic but none of the farms’ commercialized products were organic. C2 and C3 (both having three ruminant species) are those farms that have more economic differences, the former generating the lowest profit, and the latter generating the highest; however, there is a risk to grasslands conservation from the current tendency that leads dairy farms to rapid intensification. Nevertheless, the very extensive farms are the most interesting for NPSG conservation and the administration should help to maintain the profitability of this sustainable traditional activity, which is necessary to conserve communal pastures.
... This factor is very important because it can identify farms with a reduced degree of adaptability to changes in agricultural policies and that, therefore, constitute an uncompetitive market (Fig. 2).. Fig. 3 shows that indicators are separated mainly in two groups, where Subsidies/total income is logically strongly and positively correlated to PC 3, unlike the rest of the indicators. Some authors (Castel et al., 2003(Castel et al., , 2010Mena et al., 2016) have included dimensional variables to perform the factorial analysis in order to take into account relevant information on the type of farm (family, business, etc.). thus altering the obtained typological groups. ...
... thus altering the obtained typological groups. However, the methodological approach used in the present study (using a dimensional variables and/or one variable for a specific principal component) have been widely accepted and used (Ripoll-Bosch et al., 2013;Toro-Mujica et al., 2012;Mena et al., 2016).. ...
... There are other products, including manure, leather, hair, and edible by-products (such as liver, brain, lungs, spleen, heart, kidneys, blood, tail, and ears). Extensive livestock systems contribute to generating regulatory and ecosystem services (ES), such as the prevention of forest fires ( Fig. 16.4) (Castro & Fernández-Nú ñ ez, 2014;Mena et al., 2016), production of specific quality products linked to the territory, biodiversity conservation, and cultural landscapes (Aguilera et al., 2020;Díaz-Gaona et al., 2014). The ES produced by extensive livestock farming is a benefit to society as a whole. ...
This chapter encompasses both sheep and goats; however, its primary focus is on the sustainable management of sheep, unraveling the complexities and nuances of their contribution to the broader agricultural landscape. Besides that, this review explores solutions and best practices to ensure the quality and self-sufficiency of production, as well as reduction in CF and its mitigation by enhancing C sequestration. Moreover, it considers the different dimensions of extensive
production systems, highlighting the intricate interplay between livestock management, land use, and environmental impact.
... Among the farms analyzed, three were classified as extensive systems, two as organic production systems, and the remaining four as semi-intensive systems. A classification similar to the typologies proposed for the analyzed goat farms can be found in previous works, such as Martin et al. [50], Gaspar et al. [51] and Mena et al. [52]. In the extensive and organic systems, breeding animals and replacement females (over 6 months old) spend an average of 40% of their time grazing, following the common practice in dairy goat farming. ...
Livestock farming is an activity closely linked to the environment, directly affecting its surrounding ecosystem while utilizing the natural resources it provides. Accordingly, it is essential to study these production systems in order to implement more sustainable models that allow for a balance between socioeconomic and environmental factors. The main objective of this study was to analyze the environmental impact of nine different dairy goat production systems located in northern Extremadura, Spain. The selected farms ranged from extensive and organic production models to more intensive ones. The methodology used was a life cycle assessment (LCA) to calculate the carbon footprint, following the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) guidelines. A comprehensive evaluation of emissions was conducted, considering the different global warming potentials (GWPs) established by the IPCC for the main gases associated with livestock farming. In addition, carbon sequestration (Cseq) was incorporated into the analysis to assess the contribution of goat farming to climate change mitigation based on its production management. CH4 emissions were the main source (44–67%) of GHGs, followed by CO2 from inputs (20–48%), and finally N2O (7–13%). A trend was observed linking increased CH4 emissions to more extensive and less productive livestock systems. However, the significant role of soil as a carbon sink was highlighted, as it greatly offsets the emissions produced, demonstrating its potential mitigation due to Cseq, particularly in more extensive models. The importance of this factor suggests that it should be taken into account in such studies to provide a realistic view of the final impact of each production system.
... In our study, the prominent variables in the factor analysis process are related to production risk perception of the producers, cost and sale price, since different geographical regions and production structures are studied. In the literature, there are publications in which livestock farming are subject to cluster analysis (Toro-Mujica et al., 2012;Mena et al., 2016;Todde et al., 2016;Ibidhi et al., 2018). Among these studies, Toro-Mujica et al., (2012) and Ibidhi et al., (2018), similar to our study, applied factor analysis and clustering analysis after preprocessing the data and carried out their research in three basic stages. ...
... The traditional small ruminant farming sector in Spain, characterized by family herds under extensive regimes, emphasizes the likelihood of wildlife contact, especially in mixed herds combining sheep and goat species, facilitating potential epidemiological interactions and wild boar contact (Castel et al., 2003;Mena et al., 2016). In the Spanish small ruminant livestock farming sector, family herds of modest size are still very common. ...
... For saplings, frequent grazing and rubbing against them often delay growth and increase mortality (Roula et al., 2019), but moderate grazing deters shrub encroachment, mitigates wildfires (Rouet-Leduc et al., 2021), reduces competition with herbs and shrubs, and may facilitate growth in opening areas (Uytvanck et al., 2010;Reiner and Craig, 2011;Mazzini et al., 2018;Vaz et al., 2019). Notably, goats, often pointed out for the damage they cause to woody vegetation, can nevertheless be used to control invasive species and reduce fire hazards (Ruiz-Mirazo et al., 2011;Mena et al., 2016). Indeed, the maintenance of open habitats by livestock can play a critical positive role in oak recruitment (Bobiec et al., 2018;Wolański et al., 2021). ...
Livestock grazing occupies over a quarter of terrestrial land and is prevalent to agroforestry ecosystems, potentially affecting the survival, growth, and density of trees' early developmental stages, such as seeds, seedlings, and saplings. To address the effects of livestock on tree recruitment in the face of ongoing debates about their impacts, we conducted a 33-year meta-analysis in Quercus-dominated agroforestry systems. Our analysis revealed a consistently negative effect of livestock on oak acorns, seedlings, and saplings. Significantly, livestock body size influenced oak regeneration, with small-sized livestock, notably sheep and goats, having a more pronounced negative impact compared to mixed-size systems, mainly involving cattle and sheep. The effects of small-sized livestock were markedly detrimental on acorn survival and seedling/sapling density, although no studies eligible for meta-analysis examined large livestock impacts on acorns. Overall, mixed-size livestock systems, often involving cattle and sheep, lessen the negative effects. Our findings indicate that the body size and foraging behaviors of livestock should be considered for the ecological sustainability of the tree component in agroforestry systems. While protective measures have long been integral to well-managed agro-forestry systems, our results underscore the importance of integrating diverse livestock sizes and applying specific protective strategies, particularly for acorns and saplings, to further refine these practices. Future research should expand to underrepresented regions and livestock types to refine global agroforestry management practices.
... Cattle farms provide alternative employment opportunities in zones where other economic activities are not possible [47]. They contribute also to ecosystem services such as soil carbon sequestration [48]. ...
In Benin, adaptation to climate change in the livestock sector has led cattle farmers to develop different livestock practices. Most research has focused on evaluating the effects of these practices on livestock productivity. However, information on the effect of these practices on carbon (C) sequestration in farmland soils is lacking. Soil C sequestration has been identified as a potential strategy to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the present study aimed at filling this gap. The calculation was one hand based on inventory data obtained from literature sources (excrement production of each cattle category, moisture content of each crop, ratio of crop residue to main product, and C content of the main product and excrement) and on the other hand on activity data (cattle herd size, manure applied, land use area, crop yield, and crop residues management) obtained from surveys carried out among 360 cattle farmers belonging to 3 cattle farming types. The results revealed that whatever the cattle farming type, annual C input from manure was higher (p˂0.05) than C input from crop residues. Annual C sequestration in farmland soil of farms integrating livestock with cereal-legume and forage crops was significantly higher (Type 2: 158.07 ± 1.79 kg C ha−1 year−1) followed by farms integrating livestock with cereal-legume crops (Type 1: 99.51 ± 0.95 kg C ha−1 year−1), which in turn had a higher value than farms practicing pastoral mobility (Type 3: 78.46 ± 0.70 kg C ha−1 year−1). These results highlight the potential for climate change mitigation through these farming practices. This is justified because the quantity of C sequestered in farmland soil of all cattle farming types was significant. Thus, for future research, it is necessary to include soil C sequestration in the calculations of farms' carbon footprint.
... Notably, goats, often pointed out for the damage they cause to woody vegetation, can nevertheless be used to control invasive species and reduce fire hazards (Ruiz-Mirazo et al., 2011, Mena et al., 2016. Indeed, the maintenance of open habitats by livestock can play a critical positive role in oak recruitment (Bobiec et al., 2018;Wolański et al. 2021). ...
Abstract
Livestock grazing occupies over a quarter of terrestrial land and is prevalent to agroforestry ecosystems, potentially affecting the survival, growth, and density of trees' early developmental stages, such as seeds, seedlings, and saplings. To address the effects of livestock on tree recruitment in the face of ongoing debates about their impacts, we conducted a 33-year meta-analysis in Quercus-dominated agroforestry systems. Our analysis revealed a consistently negative effect of livestock on oak acorns, seedlings, and saplings. Significantly, livestock body size influenced oak regeneration, with small-sized livestock, notably sheep and goats, having a more pronounced negative impact compared to mixed-size systems, mainly involving cattle and sheep. The effects of small-sized livestock were markedly detrimental on acorn survival and seedling/sapling density, although no studies eligible for meta-analysis examined large livestock impacts on acorns. Overall, mixed-size livestock systems, often involving cattle and sheep, lessen the negative effects. Our findings indicate that the body size and foraging behaviors of livestock should be considered for the ecological sustainability of the tree component in agroforestry systems. While protective measures have long been integral to well-managed agroforestry systems, our results underscore the importance of integrating diverse livestock sizes and applying specific protective strategies, particularly for acorns and saplings, to further refine these practices. Future research should expand to underrepresented regions and livestock types to refine global agroforestry management practices.
... The traditional small ruminant farming sector in Spain, characterized by family herds under extensive regimes, emphasizes the likelihood of wildlife contact, especially in mixed herds combining sheep and goat species, facilitating potential epidemiological interactions and wild boar contact (Castel et al., 2003;Mena et al., 2016). In the Spanish small ruminant livestock farming sector, family herds of modest size are still very common. ...
... In the past, livestock used to graze the undergrowth in search of resources, which in the Mediterranean basin are usually of poor quality (Bartolomé et al. 2019) but this did help to reduce the fire hazard. Grazing programs have recently been implemented in some dry Mediterranean forest regions with the explicit intention of reducing fire risk (Mancilla-Leytón et al. 2013;Lovreglio et al. 2014;Mena et al. 2016). This type of control of undergrowth by livestock is considered to be one of the most costeffective approaches (Ruiz-Mirazo 2008; Casals et al. 2009). ...
Mediterranean islands had long been the home of several mammalian herbivores in pre-human times, which differentiates them from other islands where such fauna was absent until its introduction as domestic species. Man colonized the Mediterranean islands thanks to goats, which was well-adapted to their climate. After several millennia of coexistence its role is generating controversy. Many studies have argued that some Mediterranean islands are suffering from overpopulation, which are seriously threatening landscapes, endemic plants, and reforestation. However, little is known about the ecosystem services they provide, whereby they not only provide food, but also maintain plant heterogeneity and diversity, prevent forest fires, conserve animal genetic heritage, benefit other animal species, and contribute to the maintenance of endemic plant resistance and tolerance to herbivory. The clues that these herbivores offer regarding the structure of pre-human ecosystems, as well as their equivalents after faunistic turnover in human times, is sometimes neglected. The conclusion is not only a call for caution when applying certain actions, such as eradication, but also for recognition of certain ecosystem functions as well as genetic, taxonomic, and social aspects.
... Although there are cattle on all the farms studied, only 41% produce sheep, and therefore in some cases, the number of sheep or even goats could be increased (AVILEZ et al., 2021). This has added advantages, since when the land is grazed by more than one species, livestock make more efficient use of the vegetation, with a resulting increase in biodiversity MENA et al., 2016;RUIZ et al., 2020), together with a better distribution of tasks throughout the year and a diversification of income. To reduce Feed costs, especially Hay costs, in some cases, farmers could expand the grazing area by leasing pasture or, if possible, produce more hay . ...
Extensive livestock farming in general is more sustainable than intensive methods. However, its profitability is usually low, which can affect the motivation of young people to take up livestock rearing, and often leads them to seek employment elsewhere. The aim of this paper is to study the factors affecting the Farm profit of extensive ruminant farms in marginal areas of Southern Chile. To achieve this, we used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which provides an indepth view of the relationships of different variables (items) with Farm profit (target variable). The exogenous construct that we obtained (Structural variable), consisting of the items Grazing area, Hired labor and Total Livestock Units (LU), exerts a direct, significant explanatory influence on the endogenous construct (Economic variable), which includes the items Hay cost, Total sales and Economic records, showing a significant, positive slope in the target variable (Farm profit). These structural variables largely condition the entire economic process. However, business decisions linked to farm management influence structural factors and affect the value of income, expenditure and Farm profit. Studying the factors which influence Farm profit sheds light on the main weaknesses of the system in terms of the financial operation, as well as on potential improvements, encompassing the social, technical and environmental dimensions.
Keywords: Southern Chile, Cattle production, Sheep production, Structural variables, Economic variables.
... Implementing this pig-sheep system in the same region could also provide a bundle of ecosystem services by increasing soil cover (via temporary pastures) to increase carbon sequestration (Accatino et al., 2019), preventing wildfires via fuelbreak grazing (Mena et al., 2016), maintaining landscape heterogeneity by increasing pollinator biodiversity (Potts et al., 2009), sheltering natural enemies of agricultural pests (e.g. spiders, birds) (de Faccio Carvalho et al., 2021) and increasing bird abundance and diversity (Traba and Pérez-Granados, 2022). ...
CONTEXT: Intensive pig farming is challenged by high environmental impacts and dependence on outsourced
inputs. Circular feeding strategies to improve nutrient cycling and livestock diversity have emerged as pathways to improve the sustainability.
OBJECTIVE: This study explored the potential of increasing feed circularity and introducing sheep to improve the sustainability of a typical pig fattening region in the semiarid zone of Spain.
METHODS: Three alternative circular scenarios were designed to relocate pig feed production while reintroducing sheep production. These scenarios were then compared to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. The feeding strategies scenarios differed in crude protein (CP) and in-feed amino acid (AA) supplementation for pigs (CircHigh, high CP with low AA; CircLow, low CP with high AA; CircNoAA, low CP without AA) and included
grazing sheep to use crop residues, alfalfa and temporary vetch-oat pastures on fallow land. Yearly feed requirements for pigs were planned, and were met with cereal grains, oilseeds, legumes, rice bran and chopped alfalfa hay. Sheep carrying capacity was estimated from available forage sources. Indicators in five sustainability dimensions were considered: economic performance, landscape mosaic, livestock diversity, nitrogen (N) cycling, and feed-food competition.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Outsourced (BAU) pig feeding without sheep had low scores for indicators in all five dimensions. The feeding strategy for pigs strongly influenced the land area required to produce feed as well as N cycling. Only the CircLow scenario could feed the current pig stocks in the region with the arable land available. The CircHigh strategy combined with grazing sheep scored highest for most of the dimensions, except
for feed-food competition indicators. The CircLow strategy had good scores for most of the dimensions, except for N cycling indicators, whose scores decreased due to the lower N content of slurry. The CircNoAA strategy increased the use of rice bran as a food coproduct and decreased N surplus, but also impaired the economic performance (land productivity and feeding costs). Although the CircLow strategy required less land area to grow
legumes, it resulted in a slightly higher crop diversity and a higher sheep carrying capacity when sowing temporary pastures.
SIGNIFICANCE: N cycling and overall sustainability of regions with intensive livestock production was improved through feed circularity, that included reducing CP with high in-feed AA, and livestock diversity, by reintroducing sheep as complementary livestock that can graze crop residues and temporary pastures. These results may help to inform future rural policies to help upscale more sustainable practices in intensive pig farming regions.
... Bovine livestock specifically were found to recruit shrubs and other woodier biomass due to their selective preference for grass (e.g., Calleja et al., 2019;Teruel-Coll et al., 2019). Sheep, goats (Álvarez-Martínez et al., 2016;Mena et al., 2016) and wild ungulates (Lecomte et al., 2019) were described as having a more diverse palate which includes the browsing of herbaceous and woody vegetation. Especially in areas exposed to agricultural abandonment, (re)introduction of wild ungulates is identified as an opportunity to decrease fire risk (Lecomte et al., 2019;Linnell et al., 2020;Velamazán et al., 2018). ...
Many parts of Europe face increasing challenges managing wildfires. Although wildfire is an integral part of certain ecosystems, fires in many places are becoming larger and more intense, driven largely by climate change, land abandonment, and changes in fuel management with important socioeconomic, environmental, and ecosystem services consequences for Europe. In order to envision a comprehensive fire risk mitigation strategy for Europe, a spatial assessment of opportunities to manage fuels at the landscape-scale is needed. Our study explored the suitability of three land management strategies (LMS)—herbivory, mechanical fuel removal, and prescribed burn—which can create more heterogenous fuelscapes, thereby reducing an element of fire risk. We created suitability maps for each of the LMS using adoption factors identified in a systematic literature review (n = 123). We compared these maps with areas of historical fire occurrence as a proxy for fire risk to prioritize key areas for intervention. We found that over a quarter of Europe was suitable for multiple LMS within areas of greater fire risk, creating opportunities for concurrent and synergistic use of the strategies. Options were more limited in areas of southern Europe, where prescribed burn was found to be uniquely viable amongst the LMS evaluated. Opportunities were also restricted in some areas of high fire risk in northern Europe, where herbivory was found to be the only suitable LMS. Our findings take a wide-view of fuel management to target landscape-scale decision making focused on reducing fire risk. However, many other factors must be taken into account to successfully manage fuels at local scales, including the socio-cultural appropriateness of the LMS, the viability of incentive schemes, and possible trade-offs with other management goals, such as carbon storage and biodiversity.
... Bovine livestock specifically were found to recruit shrubs and other woodier biomass due to their selective preference for grass (e.g., Calleja et al., 2019;Teruel-Coll et al., 2019). Sheep, goats (Álvarez-Martínez et al., 2016;Mena et al., 2016) and wild ungulates (Lecomte et al., 2019) were described as having a more diverse palate which includes the browsing of herbaceous and woody vegetation. Especially in areas exposed to agricultural abandonment, (re)introduction of wild ungulates is identified as an opportunity to decrease fire risk (Lecomte et al., 2019;Linnell et al., 2020;Velamazán et al., 2018). ...
... However, recognising other services provided by livestock and their adequate remuneration would strengthen its competitiveness (Boone et al., 2019), improve the accessibility to animal products for consumers, and enhance the public acceptability of livestock farming. In particular, the role of livestock in maintaining open landscapes and avoiding bush encroachment is more important than ever in the context of climate change and wildfires, especially in Western and Southern Europe (Mena et al., 2016). Livestock also have cultural and symbolic value (Quinlan et al., 2016) and contribute to safeguarding natural areas (Lemauviel-Lavenant and Sabatier, 2017;Domingues et al., 2019). ...
The current global energy scarcity is leading to a sharp increase in its price and indirectly in the price of feed. Therefore, the large part of animal production that relies on cereals, pulses and cultivated forage will experience a sharp loss of competitiveness. The low energy efficiency of animals makes these arable land-based (ALB) livestock systems very vulnerable to the current energy crisis. The increase in production costs could lead to a sharp rise in the price of animal products. If entirely reflected in product prices, this increase in production costs
would lead to a significant drop in consumption in the context of reduced purchasing power. Therefore, the risk of a drop in income for farmers is real. To avoid this scenario, we proposed that two consequences seem unavoidable for livestock farming systems: i) the reduction of arable land dedicated to the production of animal
feed, as other markets will be more profitable, and ii) a switch to feeding strategies based on low opportunity
land and raw materials from which livestock production is most likely to benefit, i.e., low-quality resources that
are difficult to harvest. This would result in a reduction in animal numbers and a redistribution of livestock in
agricultural landscapes, a change in the types and traits of farm animals, an adaptation of supply chains and a
rebalancing of diets. Such an evolution of livestock farming should also respond to other major challenges, such
as climate change and feeding humanity
... The work developed by the Red de Áreas Pasto-Cortafuegos de Andalucía (RAPCA, Andalusian Network of Pasture-Firebreak Areas) exemplifies such an attempt. Through a controlled management of the livestock by the shepherds' activities, it helps clear the grass and brush from strategically designed fire lanes [44], and contributes to diversifying the income of farmers, who receive economic compensation, albeit minor, for their work [45]. ...
The ecosystem services provided by the age-old activity of husbandry are presently declining or seriously endangered. The situation is particularly serious for regulation services and for certain cultural services given their growing dependence on external inputs. This work performs a bibliometric analysis for the purpose of identifying the certainties and gaps associated with the different ecosystems generated by pastoral husbandry, and confirms the pressing challenges that the livestock industry is facing in the current context of global change. Two different tools, Scopus and VOSviewer, have been implemented to analyze 2230 documents published between 1961 and 2021 that include the terms “grazing” and “service”. The information required for the bibliometric analysis of authorship, country of origin, field of study and number of citations, among other categories, was drawn from the documents to the effect of evidencing their general thematic relationships. Finally, the current state of the ecosystem services currently provided by pastoral husbandry—provisioning, regulation, cultural and support services—was assessed. The results showed a greater abundance of scientific literature on provisioning and regulation services than on cultural and support services. An increase in the number of publications from the beginning of the 21st century was confirmed. The United States stands out as the country with the largest scientific production, and environmental sciences is the most prominent field in the study of ecosystem services. A recent larger academic effort to encourage the promotion of ecosystem services from the institutions has also been observed, as well as to include them as a factor in the development of environmental policies, which is described as the greatest challenge for the future of this discipline. Among other possible solutions, the new European Union agricultural subsidies—the so-called eco-schemes—appear to be essential for that effort to bear fruit as soon as possible.
... Although this research analyses the relationship between technical management and the level of GHG emissions, it should not be overlooked that there are other impacts that can be positive. Here we highlight the relevant role of extensive livestock farms in sustaining the rural world and the environment (Mena et al., 2016), as well as their contribution to fire prevention or to maintaining biodiversity. In addition, livestock farming provides different ecosystem services (Hoffman et al., 2014), with grazing providing many key ecosystem functions, such as seed dispersal, nutrient cycling and, exclusion of plant competition (FAO, 2015). ...
Livestock farming has been traditionally assessed by its economic figures, whereas the impact caused by their production models on the environment and on society have been largely disregarded. This paper analyses various organic cattle farming systems from the point of view of their technical-economic management, but also on the environmental impact caused by their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Within this context, 34 organic meat cattle dehesa farms located in the southwest of Spain were studied. On the one hand, a principal component analysis devised four factors that explained the technical-economic management model of these farms in terms of their level of dependence on subsidies, production intensification, feeding practices and productivity. The farms were then divided into three clusters whose main differences came from the size of the farms, the intensification level and the joint rearing of cattle with other livestock species. On the other hand, GHG emissions and carbon sequestration levels for each of these clusters were calculated using the life cycle assessment methodology. The average GHG net emissions from the farms were 461.98 kg of CO2 eq per ha (or 8.86 kg of CO2 eq per kg of live weight of sold animal), with the largest and more extensive farms reporting 262.05 kg of CO2 eq per ha (or 6.02 kg of CO2 eq per kg of live weight of sold animal) and the smallest and more intensive farms resulting in as much as 697.49 kg of CO2 eq per ha (or 11.18 kg of CO2 eq per kg of live weight of sold animal). One of the most significant aspects of the study was the carbon sequestration capacity of dehesa extensive farms, which allowed these livestock systems to be in line with the preservation of the natural resources, animal welfare and the provision of ecosystem services.
... The added cost of herding should be assumed by the increase in the pool of ecosystem services it provides, both provisioning (increase in animal productivity) and non-provisioning (e.g., fire prevention, pastoral culture maintenance, etc.). Examples of quantification and public payment of non-provisioning ecosystem services produced by herders and their herds in other mountain areas of Spain [123,124] could as well be implemented in our conditions. Partial improvement of heathlands has been successful in some mountain areas to maintain productive mixed herds, including sheep and goats, in a sustainable way [72]. ...
In the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, characterized by its humid climate, large rural areas are being abandoned, mostly in less-favoured areas covered by heathlands, which present a low nutritive quality for livestock production. The high combustibility of these shrublands is driving a high wildfire incidence with negative environmental and economic effects. In this review, some aspects on wildfire occurrence and the potential of grazing livestock to reduce woody phytomass and fire risk in heathland-dominated areas whilst maintaining quality production and preserving biodiversity are summarized. Heathlands may be partially improved—converted to grassland—to better meet animals’ nutritional requirements while acting as ‘natural’ firebreaks. The specific grazing behaviour offers the opportunity to combine different domestic herbivores (mixed grazing) to achieve sustainable systems utilizing heterogeneous resources. Cattle, sheep, goats, and horses may have a role in the provision of different ecosystem services such as food production and biodiversity conservation. Genotype x environment interactions shape the ability of animals to cope with poor vegetation conditions, with smaller species and breeds performing better than larger animals. Goats and horses are indicated to arrest woody encroachment. Sustainable grazing systems are affordable in heathland–grassland mosaics by selecting appropriate livestock species and breeds for quality production, thus favouring rural economies and lowering fire risk.
... There is presence of cattle in all of the farms, but sheep are found in only 41% of them. Compared to single species grazing, more than one species of animals use vegetation resources more efficiently and biodiversity increases Mena et al., 2016;Ruiz et al., 2020). At the same time, there is a better distribution of tasks throughout the year and a diversification of income. ...
Extensive livestock systems have decreased in the last decades. In general, these systems are characterized by low profitability, but they have a key role on environment conservation, maintenance of rural population, and health of meat and milk consumers. The present study was carried out in 2017 with 29 livestock farmers in the cold steppe area, Rio Ibáñez District (Comuna de Rio Ibánez), Aysén Region, Chile. The objective of this work was to compare the characteristics of extensive cattle and sheep farms of Southern Chile with a previous study conducted in 2012, assess their sustainability in 2017 and propose improvement actions. The variables studied were included in five attributes according to MESMIS methodology: Productivity, Stability, Adaptability, Equity and Self-management. There were few and circumstantial changes between 2012 and 2017. The global sustainability index was calculated (58%). The values of the five sustainability attributes were 54-64%. The results indicate that livestock farmers carry out valuable practices for sustainability, such as Cattle carry out short seasonal migration, Farmer vaccinates animals, Farmer desparasites https://doi.org/10.29393/CHJAAS37-25SAJA80025 229 Avilez et al. Sustainability assessment of extensive production systems in Southern Chile animals, Does soil analyses and Farmer has done training courses. The suggested actions to improve sustainability are related to farm and farmer's characteristics, including trading through farmers' associations and off-farm activities. Collaborative work between livestock farmers and government institutions is required to implement the proposed actions. It is also important to raise consumers' awareness of the importance of extensive production systems and the differentiated quality of their products.
... Non-manageable protected lands (i.e., IUCN class II) represent a reduced portion of the landscape, and wildfire managers can often find alternative collocation opportunities with large-scale restoration plans [81]. For instance, extensive breeding systems have proved to be a sustainable way of preventing encroachment and preserving open grasslands and fuel breaks [93,94]. Other options for reducing fuels in non-manageable lands include the use of unplanned fires [95,96], although careful analysis and robust decision support systems are needed to determine appropriate weather conditions and the suitable areas where escape probabilities may pose a minimal threat to property and natural values [46,97]. ...
During the 2017 wildfire season in Portugal, unprecedented episodes burned 6% of the country’s area and underscored the need for a long-term comprehensive solution to mitigate future wildfire disasters. In this study, we built and calibrated a national-scale fire simulation system including the underlying fuels and weather data and used the system to quantify wildfire exposure to communities and natural areas. We simulated 10,000 fire season replicates under extreme weather to generate 1.6 million large wildfire perimeters and estimate annual burn probability and fire intensity at 100 m pixel resolution. These outputs were used to estimate wildfire exposure to buildings and natural areas. The results showed a fire exposure of 10,394 structures per year and that 30% of communities accounted for 82% of the total. The predicted burned area in natural sites was 18,257 ha yr⁻¹, of which 9.8% was protected land where fuel management is not permitted. The main burn probability hotspots were in central and northern regions. We highlighted vital priorities to safeguard the most vulnerable communities and promote landscape management programs at the national level. The results can be useful to inform Portugal’s new national plan under implementation, where decision-making is based on a probabilistic methodology. The core strategies include protecting people and infrastructure and wildfire management. Finally, we discuss the next steps necessary to improve and operationalize the framework developed here. The wildfire simulation modeling approach presented in this study is extensible to other fire-prone Mediterranean regions where predicting catastrophic fires can help anticipate future disasters.
... Like sheep farm typologies identified in different Mediterranean regions(Caballero, 2001;Usai et al., 2006;Gaspar et al., 2008;Mena et al., 2016), the extensive sheep system of Huesca is characterized by small-to medium-sized family farms, mostly tended by family labour and strongly dependent on leased land(Pardos et al., 2008). In 2016, about 50% of farms had a herd size of between 200 and 1000 heads. ...
... For these reasons they should be maintained. This type of livestock farming is a tool to enhance the environmental management of the landscape and as such is worthy of economic appraisal, for instance, payments could be made to farmers for their contribution to wildfire prevention (Ruiz-Mirazo et al., 2011;Mena et al., 2016). Furthermore, given the importance of seeking economic and ecological solutions for rural development in these territories (Correal et al., 2006), extensive farming could provide an incentive not to leave the area. ...
In the Mediterranean Basin, sheep meat production systems are based on grazing, and help to conserve biodiversity, mitigate the greenhouse gases emissions and maintain the population in rural areas. However, the lack of differentiation of pastoral systems, as opposed to the intensive model, puts its continuity at risk. In this sense, organic farming can be an alternative to sustain extensive sheep-cereal production systems in marginal Mediterranean drylands. The aim of this research was to evaluate the conversion possibilities of pastoral meat sheep production systems to the organic production model in the Mediterranean Basin, working with the autochthonous Segureña breed sheep. 46 farms were studied, classified into four clusters by mean of multivariate analysis. In order to determine the degree to which farms approached the organic model, 60 variables, grouped into nine indicators were analyzed to obtain an Organic Conversion Index (OCI). The Nutritional management indicator has a high value of approaching the organic model, as well as Animal welfare and Food safety. Marketing and business management , Breeds and reproduction , Weed and pest control and Sustainable pasture management indicators also reach a good approximation level. Only the Breeds and reproduction indicator presented values with significant differences between clusters. The average value of the OCI for the 46 farms ranges from 63 to 70%, and therefore it can be concluded that extensive meat sheep herds in the region are close to this production model. Among the recommendations that can be made to improve the conversion possibilities to the organic model are: (i) to increase own fodder production or find a way to obtain it easily and economically; (ii) to complete the plant−soil−animal cycle, (iii) to seek greater marketing autonomy and (iv) to achieve closer contact with the final consumer. At the same time, government policy both in Spain and other parts of Europe should persevere to find more ways to support the progress of this type of production, in an effort to address limitations and overcome the lack of alternative markets.
... Grazing lands can provide a wide array of Ecosystem Services (ES) that depend on their management practices and intensity [52]. Nevertheless, although citizens have better knowledge of other ES, such as forest fire prevention [53], the contribution to the maintenance of pastures as C sinks has not yet been properly recognized and, therefore, rewarded. Linking ES, including C sinks, to the products (via labeling, for instance) would favor a better positioning in the markets. ...
Exploring and developing new tools for the accounting and management of natural C sinks will provide a closer, more accurate option to remark the importance of such sinks in relation to livestock production, helping to support the persistence of some seriously endangered traditional, environmentally sustainable livestock farming. Following both precision and usability criteria, two main C sink databases covering the Andalusian region (S Spain) were developed from the Spanish Land Parcel Identification System (SIGPAC, coarse resolution) and the Spanish Information System on Land Cover (SIOSE, finer resolution) land use classes. Particular C sink factors based on growth rates for individual plant species were associated with detailed vegetation maps and, further, were linked to Land Use and Covers cartography across the region. In addition, eight ruminant farms were exhaustively studied in situ and used as a control. Results were compared with the obtained through the application of the developed C sink databases, and with the commonly used Petersen methodology. The sink capacity of vegetation associated with farms varied from 0.25 to 1.37 t CO2 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹, depending on the plant species composition and abundance. All the approaches showed significant differences from the control. C sink values were significantly higher when applying SIGPAC-based C sink database to farms, while values from the SIOSE and Petersen methodology approaches provided more moderate values, closer to the control. SIGPAC and Petersen approaches showed higher usability but presented lower precision due to a poor definition of plant cover. SIOSE-based C sink database provided suitable values able to be adapted to reality and used by farmers. In this regard, further research efforts to improve the adjustment of results and ease of use are required. The present approach means a methodological advance in the estimation of the C sink capacity associated with pastoral livestock farms, able to be incorporated into the CF calculation in contrasted areas worldwide, in the frame of the ‘eco-schemes’ being recently under development through the EU CAP.
... The case under study is Aragón's extensive sheep farming system in north-eastern Spain, which is Spain's empirical context in the SURE-Farm project 2 . Like sheep farm typologies identified in different Mediterranean regions (Mena et al., 2016), the sector is characterized by small-to medium-sized family farms with a flock size ranging from 200 to 1000 heads, mostly tended by family labour and strongly dependent on leased land (Pardos et al., 2008). ...
• Due to the low profitability of extensive sheep farming in southern Europe, strategies to improve economic performance are needed.
• The paper aims to evaluate the performance of a quality label and an
increased prolificacy strategy under price and cost risks.
• The increased prolificacy performs much better in terms of average gross margin, whereas the quality label appears vulnerable to price drops.
• The joint implementation of quality and productive efficiency strategies could compensate for their respective weaknesses.
• The paper brings to light weaknesses of quality labels, and quantifies their economic performance in lamb production.
... Grazing programs in forests from the private and public sectors have currently been implemented in some Mediterranean areas, with the explicit intention of reducing fire risk [5][6][7]. These have shown that grazing management of forest vegetation not only prevents fires, but also preserves or increases ecosystem biodiversity, activates the rural economies (e.g., ecotourism, controlled hunting), and enhances scenic qualities [8,9]. ...
Simple Summary
Donkeys and goats are animals adapted to graze in understories, and thus contribute to the prevention of forest fires. In this work, the preferences of donkeys and goats have been determined for five key plant species of the Mediterranean forest, where large forest fires have increased as a result of global change. Using a multiple selection test, it has been observed that both species can complement each other, since donkeys consume more fine fuel, such as Brachypodium retusum, and goats, highly flammable woody species, such as Pinus halepensis. In this way, browsing becomes an ecosystem service, which, in the case of donkeys, can even help prevent their extinction.
Abstract
During the second half of the 20th century, European countries experienced an increase in their forest area due to the global change. Consequently, there has been an increase in large forest fires, mainly in the Mediterranean basin, and this has forced the development of several types of prevention programs. One of them is the control of the understory by livestock. In this sense, browsing with a combination of donkeys and goats could be a good option, as both animals usually feed on forest species. However, little is known about their preferences for the key species of the Mediterranean forest. Using a cafeteria test, the preferences and consumption of both animals have been determined for five typical species of the Mediterranean forest, such as Quercus ilex, Pinus halepensis, Phillyrea latifolia, Rubus ulmifolius, and Brachypodium retusum. Results showed that donkeys and goats could act complementarily in the reduction of the fuel biomass of forests. Donkeys appear to act more on fine fuel, such as B. retusum, and goats on the more pyrophyte species, in this case P. halepensis. In addition, given that donkeys are at severe risk of extinction in Europe, this role of providing ecosystem services could contribute to their conservation. Despite this study only showing that goats and donkeys would consume all five presented plant species and that there are some differences in consumption during a short-term test, it constitutes a useful first step for conservation and fire prevention in the Mediterranean forests.
... Вдосконалення годівлі та відтворення стада доцільні, особливо з урахуванням особливостей ферм та практики випасу тварин. Найкращі результати були пов'язані з великими отарами, що поєднують овець та кіз, та тривалими (цілий рік) пасовищними періодами (Mena et al., 2016;2017). ...
The purpose of the work was to determine the performance of goat milk in smallholder production in optimal climatic conditions of the Donetsk-Dnipro region of the Left Bank province of the natural-agricultural zone of the Steppe of Ukraine. According to the definition of the temperature - humidity index, the climate acceptable for goats is observed in April. Mean values and standard deviations of physico-chemical parameters of milk were found in local goats at lactation: fat 4.32 ± 1.25%, protein 3.22 ± 0.24%, lactose 4.78 ± 0.37%, fat ratio / protein 1.35 ± 0.42, milk solids-not-fat 8.67 ± 0.65%, density 29 ± 300A, freezing point -0.567 ± -0.0390C, electrical conductivity 4.49 ± 0.47 mS / cm, pH 6, 73 ± 0.09, acidity 15.7 ± 1.90T. At the peak of the lactation curves, local goats showed a decrease in protein and lactose content, instead of an increase in fat. The expressiveness of such a disproportion was manifested in the dynamics of the values of the ratio of fat / protein, milk solids-not-fat and milk density. Therefore, during the first 2-3 months of lactation, when milk is actually the only source of nutrients for plastic and energy metabolism for goatlings, the concentration of lactose and protein is high. At the age of 3–4 months goatlings have to satisfy most of their needs due to their own search for feed, which is why the composition of goat's milk reflects this process of formation of the young's animal digestive system. The decrease in milk depression (higher freezing point) during the lactation peak probably reflects a change in the total concentration of osmotically active substances, especially lactose, at this time. The gradual increase in the electrical conductivity of milk throughout the lactation is caused by the accumulation of electrolytes coming from the blood of animals. In fact, the stable pH and acidity of milk confirm the high resistance of local animals to breast diseases, especially subclinical mastitis caused by technological stress on animals under conditions of intensive production technology. The presence of 87 % of the population of goats both in Dnipropetrovsk region and in Ukraine as a whole means that it will remain important for a long time to ensure the proper level of servicing of small cattle in individual peasant farms rather than in specialized enterprises.
... Sheep farms play an important role in the maintenance of rural areas, providing alternative job opportunities in locations where other economic activities are not possible, as well as having an important role in the maintenance of the environment (Bernués et al., 2011;Mena et al., 2016). However, their continuity depends on their ability to adapt traditional farming systems so that they can become a cost-effective alternative for owners (Gaspar et al., 2016). ...
In recent decades there have been significant changes in land use and production orientation in certain marginal
agricultural areas in the southwest of Spain. The abandonment of rainfed cereal crops and their change of use as
natural pastures grazed by milk sheep, have led to an improvement in the profitability of the farms, greater
industrialisation and a positive impact on rural development. This paper calculates the carbon footprint (CF) of farms in
the context of life cycle as-sessment with the objective to identify the system that accounts for the lowest CF while
maintaining adequate levels of profitability and revitalising the rural environment. The data were obtained through
surveys carried out on dairy sheep farms of different typol-ogies, ranging from the semi-intensive farms with small
grazing areas, to the extensive farms with large areas of natural pastures. Findings could help farmers evaluate the
en-vironmental impact of their activities, while at the same time provide consumers with valuable evidence to be used
in further marketing actions. Greenhouse gas emissions vary from 1.77 to 4.09 Kg CO2eq/kg of milk, where the lowest
values correspond to the most intensive farms and the highest values to the most extensive and least productive
farms. Enteric fermentation, followed by feeding, are the emissions with the greatest impact. Enteric fermentation
reaches its maximum value (52.22% of the total emissions) in the most extensive farms. On other hand, this study
found that carbon sequestration varies between 0.09 and 2.04 kg of CO2eq/kg of milk, a figure that can considerably
reduce the carbon footprint cal-culation and justifies its inclusion in the Life Cycle Assessment.
... (Mancilla-Leyton, Pino y Martín, 2013;Mena, Ruiz-Mirazo, Ruiz y Castel, 2016). ...
Resultado de las actividades antrópicas la concentración de CO2 atmosférico ha aumentado de manera vertiginosa en el último siglo. Ante este futuro escenario de cambio, el objetivo del presente estudio ha sido evaluar la respuesta de la vegetación característica de los ecosistemas forestales mediterráneos (Quercus coccifera) bajo distinto grado de herbivoría y concentración de CO2 atmosférico. Para examinar los efectos del consumo parcial sobre el crecimiento de las plantas se simularon tres niveles de herbivoría (nulo, moderado y alto) y dos concentraciones de CO2 atmosférico (380 µmol mol-1 y 700 µmol mol-1). Los resultados mostraron que el grado de herbivoría simulado fue el principal factor que limitó el crecimiento de las plántulas de Q. coccifera: bajo un grado de herbivoría moderado, para ambos ambientes de CO2, las plantas de Q. coccifera presentaron un desarrollo significativamente mayor que las plantas intactas y aquellas sometidas a un grado de herbivoría alto. Este estudio supone una primera aproximación sobre la tolerancia a exceso de CO2 atmosférico y herbivoría de matorrales mediterráneos, pero son necesarios futuros estudios que arrojen luz a muchas de las situaciones naturales de estrés (abiótico y biótico).
... Así, el encaje institucional de estas iniciativas debería poder reflejar aspectos cruciales en la gestión pastoral y buscar la mejor manera de alinearlo con las necesidades de prevención de incendios. Por ejemplo, el estudio de Mena et al. (2016) sobre las explotaciones que participan en la RAPCA revela que aquellas que consiguen un mejor cumplimiento son las que tienen rebaños más grandes y son estantes, ya que tienen un acceso mayor a pastaderos cercanos a los cortafuegos. Aquellos pastores con situaciones más precarias y que han de mover el ganado, lo que es práctica usual en un contexto Mediterráneo, son los que peores resultados obtienen. ...
Palabras clave: Gobernanza, sistemas de pagos por servicios ambientales, incendios forestales, ganadería extensiva. RESUMEN Una gobernanza que incorpore la complejidad inherente a la gestión de recursos naturales en el Mediterráneo puede ejercer un papel fundamental en la resiliencia de los sistemas socioecológi-cos a los incendios forestales. Los cambios en los usos del suelo y en el comportamiento del fuego y el clima han creado nuevas condiciones que las estructuras de gestión actuales no tra-tan adecuadamente. La incorporación del pastoreo controlado para la prevención de incendios, más allá de mejorar la resiliencia del ecosistema, puede representar un cambio en las dinámicas reactivas de las instituciones, mejorando la capacidad de mantener la diversidad social como fuente de renovación y organización en épocas de crisis. Este trabajo adopta el marco de los sistemas socioecológicos complejos (SSC) para hacer una comparativa preliminar entre las iniciativas de pagos por pastoreo controlado que se llevan a cabo en Andalucía y Cataluña en términos de su contribución a la resiliencia del socioecosis-tema y a la gobernanza de los incendios forestales. El pastoreo controlado puede suponer una oportunidad para mejorar la gestión de incendios, si bien su introducción no está libre de reproducir dinámicas en las que, a costa de estabilidad en la gestión, se pierden resiliencia ecológica, flexibilidad y capacidad de adaptación en la dimen-sión social. Nuestra recomendación es concebir la actividad pastoral de forma integral, en la que el mecanismo de pagos sea un instrumento más dirigido a una gestión que promueva la resiliencia socio-ecológica del sistema. SOCIEDAD ESPAÑOLA DE PASTOS (SEP) www.seepastos.es REVISTA PASTOS. Nº 47(1): 6-23. JUNIO 2017 PASTOS
... Moreover, measures to suppress fires appear to have increased the amount of biomass available in wildland environments and, hence, the risk of high severity wildfires (Lavaux et al. 2016). To reduce the biomass, several management options have been adopted, including prescribed fires (Ú beda et al. 2018), grazing (Mena et al. 2016) and mechanical vegetation removal (Hevia et al. 2018). In areas affected by wildfire, the most common post-fire management practice is the logging of burnt wood and site preparation (Peterson et al. 2015;Pereira et al. 2018). ...
Fire and pre- or post-fire management practices shape the distribution and richness of plant species. Here, the effects of pre- and post-fire management on vegetation recovery were studied at different times, up to 18 months after a wildfire. Two months after a 2015 wildfire, 18 study plots were established (three 4-m2 plots for each treatment), vegetation regrowth was monitored and vegetal species richness (S), evenness (IT), density (D), diversity (H′) and maximum diversity (HMax) after 2, 10 and 18 months. The treatments were (1) control, unaffected by 2015 wildfire; (2) no treatment (NT), burned in 2015 wildfire and not managed; (3) managed in 2005 and burned in 2015 (M05B); (4) managed in 2015, 2 months before wildfire (M15B); (5) cut and manual removal after the 2015 wildfire (CR); (6) cut and no trunk removal randomly deposited on topsoil after the 2015 wildfire (CL). All the treatments were carried out in a Pinus halepensis Miller forest. At 10 and 18 months after the wildfire, vegetation recovery was greater in NT, CR and CL plots than in M05B and M15B the plots. By 18 months after the wildfire, Brachypodium retusum (Pers.) P. Beauv. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. were still dominant, especially in M15B, corroborating the belief that pre-fire treatment reduced ecosystem resilience and vegetal recovery compared to the NT and post-fire managed plots. Richness was significantly lower 10 months after wildfire in control plots, and IT was significantly higher in that inventory than previously in M15B. Eighteen months after the wildfire, H′ was significantly lower in M15B. Ten months post-wildfire, HMax was significantly lower in the control plots. Eighteen months after the wildfire, HMax, was significantly higher in CR, CL and M05B than in the control and M15B plots. Overall, pre-fire management was detrimental to post-fire vegetation recovery, while manual post-fire management proved beneficial.
... Apart from its economic impact, proper grazing management allows the recycling of nutrients, prevents soil erosion and maintains water reserves. It also reduces the risk of forest fires and increases both carbon sequestration and pasture quality (Mena et al., 2016;Ripoll-Bosch et al., 2012), as well as the productivity of dehesas (Fernández et al., 2014). ...
This paper provides a list of specific indicators that will allow the managers of dehesa farms to assess their sustainability in an easy and reliable way. To this end a Delphi analysis has been carried out with a group of experts in agroforestry systems and sustainability. A total of 30 experts from public institutions, farming, research bodies, environmental and rural development associations, agricultural organisations and companies took part in the study which intended to design a set of sustainability indicators adapted to dehesa agroforestry systems.
The experts scored 83 original indicators related to the basic pillars of sustainability (environmental, social and economic) through a two-round procedure. Finally, 24 indicators were selected based on their importance and the consensus achieved.
From an environmental point of view, and in line with its significance for dehesa ecosystems, it has been observed that "Stocking rate" is the indicator with greater relevance. Within the economic pillar, "Farm profitability" is the most important indicator, while regarding the technical indicators "Percentage of animal diet based on grazing" is the one that got the highest score. Finally, the "Degree of job satisfaction" and the "Generational renewal" were considered as the most relevant labour indicators.
It is considered that the Delphi approach used in this research settles some of the flaws of other sustainability models, such as the adaptation to the system to be studied and the involvement of stakeholders in the design.
KEY WORDS: Dehesa; sustainability; indicators; Delphi method; agro-forestry
... At a minimum, commercial forestry activities need to consider fuel breaks to fragment the dense multi-storied forested landscapes that develop after afforestation activities. Livestock production can also facilitate fuels fragmentation and retard encroachment by highly flammable shrub vegetation (Elias and Tischew, 2016;Mena et al., 2016). Disturbances that create patches benefit game and protected species that prefer edge and open-habitats (De Cáceres et al., 2013). ...
We used spatial optimization to allocate and prioritize prescribed fire treatments in the fire-prone Bages County, central Catalonia (northeastern Spain). The goal of this study was to identify suitable strategic locations on forest lands for fuel treatments in order to: 1) disrupt major fire movements, 2) reduce ember emissions, and 3) reduce the likelihood of large fires burning into residential communities. We first modeled fire spread, hazard and exposure metrics under historical extreme fire weather conditions, including node influence grid for surface fire pathways, crown fraction burned and fire transmission to residential structures. Then, we performed an optimization analysis on individual planning areas to identify production possibility frontiers for addressing fire exposure and explore alternative prescribed fire treatment configurations. The results revealed strong trade-offs among different fire exposure metrics, showed treatment mosaics that optimize the allocation of prescribed fire, and identified specific opportunities to achieve multiple objectives. Our methods can contribute to improving the efficiency of prescribed fire treatment investments and wildfire management programs aimed at creating fire resilient ecosystems, facilitating safe and efficient fire suppression, and safeguarding rural communities from catastrophic wildfires. The analysis framework can be used to optimally allocate prescribed fire in other fire-prone areas within the Mediterranean region and elsewhere. Download link: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1WEprB8cccpuf
... Barrantes et al. (2009) developed a typology of Spanish territories according to vegetation types, cropland uses and stocking rates in order to propose proper land use and environmental policy measures. A more recent study by Mena et al. (2016) used a typology to depict the farm profile which best suits fuelbreak grazing in Spain, thus linking land uses with the provision of ecosystem services and related payments. The elements of the studies presented here which are of interest for this study are presented in Table 3. ...
Recent changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) introduced different definitions regarding the eligibility of various types of land used by grazing animals. In particular, shrublands and other low-quality areas which have traditionally been used as grazinglands are now not eligible for European Union income support payments. Subject to these changes, a large part of livestock farms will be affected, being partially or fully deprived of EU income support. In addition to these policy-driven changes, pasture-fed livestock farms in Greece are faced with a unique system of grazingland allocation, as all grazing areas in the country are state-owned. These areas are allocated for a short period either directly to farmers who are permanent residents of the Municipalities or to other livestock farmers through an auction system, which does not take into account the grazing capacity thus bringing about environmental degradation. This paper investigates the effects of CAP changes and of this communal land allocation system based on the findings of a typological analysis. The study focuses on a typical Greek territory in terms of land uses, economic activities and sociodemographic developments. Data from a questionnaire survey are used to build a typology of local livestock farms in terms of their nutritional management and land use characteristics and then the profile of each type is investigated through the estimation of a Multinomial Logit Model where the dependent variable is the cluster participation. Three distinct types of farms (clusters) are determined. Cluster 1 includes traditional farms which rear sheep and goats and bovine for meat, which are highly dependent on grazingland uses and EU income support. Cluster 2 farms – mainly sheep and goat – have evolved a ‘double’ dependency on land in the form of grazingland but also of cropland for feedstuff production, which renders them more resilient to policy changes. Finally, Cluster 3 farms are intensive dairy cattle farms and use artificial (cultivated) privately-owned grazinglands and cropland for feedstuff production. Market-oriented measures are proposed for each type and suggestions for an integrated land use plan are made, including long-term leasing of land and the consideration of environmental criteria for land allocation, thus rendering farmers responsible for keeping their land in a good production state.
... For instance, we observed long-distance fire events originating in dryland croplands in the southern portion of the study area. By managing herbaceous fuels with extensive grazing in fenced pasture common lands [86,87], and using grass species with patchy growth habit on dryland hay meadows, wildfire spread and intensity could be reduced in these areas. However, implementation of supervised grazing after cereal harvesting that is needed to break fuel beds on the edges between mosaics of cultivated lands is nowadays complicated to implement [88]. ...
We assessed potential economic losses and transmission to residential houses from wildland fires in a rural area of central Navarra (Spain). Expected losses were quantified at the individual structure level (n = 306) in 14 rural communities by combining fire model predictions of burn probability and fire intensity with susceptibility functions derived from expert judgement. Fire exposure was estimated by simulating 50,000 fire events that replicated extreme (97th percentile) historical fire weather conditions. Spatial ignition probabilities were used in the simulations to account for non-random ignitions, and were estimated from a fire occurrence model generated with an artificial neural network. The results showed that ignition probability explained most of spatial variation in risk, with economic value of structures having only a minor effect. Average expected loss to residential houses from a single wildfire event in the study area was 7955€, and ranged from a low of 740 to the high of 28,725€. Major fire flow-paths were analyzed to understand fire transmission from surrounding municipalities and showed that incoming fires from the north exhibited strong pathways into the core of the study area, and fires spreading from the south had the highest likelihood of reaching target residential structures from the longest distances (>5 km). Community firesheds revealed the scale of risk to communities and extended well beyond administrative boundaries. The results provided a quantitative risk assessment that can be used by insurance companies and local landscape managers to prioritize and allocate investments to treat wildland fuels and identify clusters of high expected loss within communities. The methodological framework can be extended to other fire-prone southern European Union countries where communities are threatened by large wildland fires.
... En este sentido, existe un cierto consenso sobre la fragilidad de los sistemas de ovino de carne ubicados en regiones mediterráneas (De Rancourt et al., 2006), a pesar del papel crucial que juegan en el mantenimiento medioambiental y socioeconómico de áreas desfavorecidas de Europa (Bernués et al., 2011). Un ejemplo de este importante papel es la contribución del ovino en pastoreo en la lucha contra el cambio climático a través de la protección contra los incendios forestales (Mena et al., 2016). ...
Sheep farms in SW Spain have been exposed to various pressures derived from changes in the consumption patterns and policy changes linked to several reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy in the last years, which has translated into the abandonment of the farm activity or the intensification process for those farms which have continued in the sector. These systems, however, are extremely fragile, as well as they have a key role in providing environmental services. In this context, we have analyzed a sample of 101 sheep farms belonging to cooperatives and located in Spain SW. Technical and economic indicators related to farm management have been studied. It is noted that the integration of farms into cooperatives can improve farm structure and ensure their persistence, due to the provision of additional services to the farmer, the generation of an added value and an increased price stability. © 2016, Universidad de Cordoba,Servicio de Publicaciones. All rights reserved.
The purpose of the study is to analyze the benefits of goat breeding in a changing climate and show the value of goat products for human health. The characteristics of goats under deteriorating environmental conditions are identified, which can not only provide good economic returns for households and farms, but also contribute to climate change. The analysis of the literature of domestic and foreign authors was carried out using the methods of systematization and generalization. It has been established that goats are considered ideal animals due to their high heat and drought tolerance, high feed conversion efficiency resulting in lower intestinal CH4 emissions per unit of feed consumed. The natural ability of goats to survive in the presence of poor quality or limited vegetation and to maintain a balance that helps them gain access to the leaves of shrubs and trees is described, which is considered an advantage over other types of livestock. They are less susceptible and more resistant to certain diseases. Compared to other ruminants, goats have more lymphocytes than neutrophils, indicating a well-developed immune system in this species. Goats are bred mostly in natural conditions with very little use of pharmacological preparations to improve health and productivity, thus the meat and milk obtained from them can be considered natural products that are beneficial to health. Goats are prolific ruminants, which is an advantage for the production and improvement of their genetic potential. The huge increase in population is expected to further increase the already high demand for meat and milk. Goats have great potential and can play a significant role in the supply of healthy meat and milk.
The frequency and severity of Mediterranean forest fires are expected to worsen as climate change progresses, heightening the need to evaluate understory fuel management strategies as rigorously as possible. Prescribed small-ruminant foraging is considered a sustainable, cost-effective strategy, but demonstrating a link between animal presence and vegetation change is challenging. This study tested whether the effect of small-ruminant herd presence in Mediterranean woodlands can be detected by integrating remote sensing and herd tracking at the landscape scale. The daily foraging routes of seven shepherded goat herds that exploited a 100-km2 forested area of the Judean Hills, Israel, were tracked over six years using GPS (Global Positioning System) collars. Herd locations were converted to stocking rates, with units of animal-presence-days per unit area per defined time period, and mapped at a spatial resolution of 10 m. We estimated pixel-level vegetation cover change based on a time series of 63 monthly Landsat-8 images expressed as the normalized soil-adjusted vegetation index. Spatiotemporal trend analysis assessed the magnitude and direction of change, and a random forest machine-learning algorithm estimated the relative impact on vegetation cover change of environmental factors as well as the herd-related factors of stocking rate that accrued over six years and distance to the closest corral. The last two factors were among the most influential factors determining vegetation cover change in the regional and individual-herd analyses. In some respects, the permanent herds differed in their spatial pattern of stocking rate from the mobile herds that periodically relocated their night corral throughout the year, but stocking rate scaled logarithmically for all herds individually and combined. The combination of multi-season GPS tracking, remote sensing, and machine-learning techniques, applied at a regional scale, detected herd impacts on vegetation cover trends, consistent with livestock foraging being an effective tool for fuel reduction in Mediterranean woodlands.
Over recent years, rural abandonment and climate change have challenged grazed wooded landscapes in Mediterranean mountain regions. Fire hazard management procedures such as grazing, prescribed burning, or mechanical clearing must be adjusted to the new socioeconomic and environmental situation and according to the context and circumstances of each territory. This study contributes to adjusting vegetation management techniques in response to low grazing pressure by evaluating the combined effect of mechanical clearing and grazing on the structural and floristic dynamics of understory vegetation in the open-grazed Mediterranean oak forests of northern Portugal. To this end, three treatments were established: mechanical clearing with grazing, mechanical clearing without grazing, and grazing without clearing (the control). The floristic inventories were carried out using the point quadrat method, and the structure was evaluated using line transects. Herbaceous biomass was determined by destructive methods. This study shows that mechanical vegetation clearing effectively reduces phytovolume and, thus, fire hazards. However, for its effects to endure, it must be combined with subsequent grazing, which does not always occur. No consistent pattern was found in the floristic dynamics of the shrub-grassland mosaic (species richness and diversity) related to shrub-clearing or grazing over the short term (24 months).
The main characteristic of caprine production in southern Spain is its heterogeneity, which has prevented a proper classification of the different systems. This leads to lack of knowledge and difficulties in the decision-making processes and in the adoption of sectorial strategies. In this context, this article aimed to characterize and classify the different dairy goat systems using autochthonous breeds in Andalusia, according to their feed management practices and productivity. Based on this classification, this work intended to define the technical and economic characteristics of those dairy goat systems by analyzing their differences, performing a comparative analysis of their technical efficiency and assessing the current framework within which the activity takes place. For this purpose, twenty-one farms were monitored during 2018. The technical-economic information obtained allowed the performance of a Cluster Analysis to segregate different groups with common characteristics. Subsequently, an input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis was also performed, followed by a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis. The work carried out made it possible to identify four well-defined dairy goat systems: Pastoral systems; Grazing systems with high feed supply; Indoor systems with associated crops; and Indoor systems without associated crops. They displayed significant differences from a technical-economic point of view, but not in terms of technical efficiency, which was not determined by the production system as such, but by the appropriate management practices implemented in each case. The SWOT analysis revealed the existence of many common elements together with important differences, which justified the use of a specific approach to the reality of each system.
The objective of this study was to typify ovine and/or caprine production systems in Cesar department, in the Colombian Caribbean region. Farmers from 25 municipalities of Cesar (n=360) were surveyed about different areas of animal production. The most influential variables were obtained through a Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD) and these results were used to run a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), followed by statistical comparison. Three clusters of production systems (PS) were identified: traditional ovine and/or caprine production system – TPS (84.9%), mixed ovine and/or caprine production system - MPS (11.4%), and specialized ovine and/or caprine production system - SPS (3.7%). This study proposes an updated classification of sheep and/or goat production systems in Cesar, Colombia.
The factors that led to the emergence of organic agriculture are the use of uncontrolled chemicals in agricultural production and the ever-increasing residues in the products and the nitrogen problem that comes from agriculture, as well as the concern for ecological balance and, last but not least, the growing demand for animal welfare in the Community. There are important problems in organic livestock production, which is an important part of organic agricultural production. It can be said that both animal breeds and plant varieties intended for organic livestock production are not suitable and appropriate for an economic organic livestock farming, where a fully controlled production system is to be used. On the other hand, in the production of forage crops in dry conditions and without the use of fertilizers, the soil and plant varieties have problems adapting to organic farming. While the performance in our indigenous breeds are low for an economic organic livestock farming, high-performing crossbreed genotypes and foreign breeds often have feeding and health problems. The yield and performance levels of the genotypes used in organic livestock farming, the roughage ratio of ruminants, and the sources and quantities of protein for poultry, show serious deviations and conflicts between practice and the regulations. The practicing biosecurity in organic livestock farming is difficult. On the other hand, health applications, which must be used intensively in some species, pose another problem due to the limited hygienic environment. This paper discusses the philosophical approaches to organic livestock farming, the regulation and practical applicability of organic farming, the evaluation of genotypes and the environment of ecological livestock farming as well as the feasibility and sustainability of organic livestock farming in Turkey.
Organic Animal Farming in Turkey: Philosophy and Practice
Organic agricultural production has formed in the world, due to the use of uncontrolled chemicals in agricultural production and amount of residuals, intense of nitrogen released into the environment, protection of ecological balance and the emergence of animal welfare. There are important problems in practicability of organic animal production, which is an important part of organic agricultural production in Turkey and the world. It can be said that, both animal and plant varieties, which are anticipated to be used in organic livestock production, are not suitable and sufficient for an economical organic livestock production in which a fully controlled production system is tried to be applied. On the other hand, soil and plant varieties have problems of adaptation to organic production in the production of dry agriculture conditions and fodder crops without using artificial fertilizers. While there are no indigenous breeds that have enough performance to benefit from organic animal husbandry, efficient crossbred genotypes and foreign breeds in our country are also frequently experienced in feeding and health problems. The yield levels and performance levels of animal genotypes in organic animal breeding, roughage: concentrate ratio in ruminants and protein source and amount in poultry have significant clash and conflicts with the field. While biosecurity in organic livestock production becomes difficult, health practices, which have to be applied intensively in some animal species, constitute another point of concern, with a limited hygienic environment. It should be considered that each farm has a separate “ecosystem” and if the whole livestock sector is approached systematically by the preparation and careful implementation of the health protection plan, overall health problems will be reduced. The philosophical approach of organic animal husbandry, the regulations and the practical applicability of organic farming, organic animal production were discussed in this study, which examined the forming of animal genotype and environment, evaluations of the feasibility and sustainability of organic farming is done in Turkey
Key words: Genotype, production system, nutrition, heath protection, animal welfare
In this Chapter, we describe the interaction between fire and herbivory, as a single disturbance (fire × herbivory) with more disparate effects on ecosystems than either process will have separately. For much of human history (since about the end of the Pleistocene), herbivores and fires have been in dynamic interplay with fire the dominant process when herbivores decrease (and vice versa) and with changes in herbivore densities often anthropogenically determined. We propose a conceptual model that summarise the consequences for processes involved in fire × herbivory for systems that are either grass- or tree-dominated, as well as mixed tree/grass systems. In grass-dominated systems, high levels of grazing can reduce grass biomass and change the grass layer structure and composition, resulting in patches or landscapes with reduced flammability, with feedbacks to fire and grazing behaviour. In tree-dominated systems, the direct effects of fire × browsing include altered fuel accumulation and vertical fuel structure, while indirect effects are often through herbivory influencing forest regeneration trajectories post-fire, with implications for the future flammability of the system. In mixed tree/grass and grazer/browser systems, increased grazing pressure can reduce fire frequency and intensity directly, through fuel removal and changes to the herbaceous layer. Increased browsing may increase fire indirectly through reducing woody recruitment and hence reducing woody competition with the herbaceous layer. However, there may also be negative feedbacks resulting in variable net effects. Ecosystem patterns and processes that are influenced through fire × herbivory, will influence grazing and browsing behaviour through various feedbacks, and may ultimately have consequences for productivity and biodiversity. Managers may achieve objectives e.g. in reducing fire risk or curbing woody thickening, more readily if they consider the interaction and feedbacks between fire and herbivory. Actions like rewilding, and mimicking or manipulating fire and herbivore spatio-temporal patterns may be important tools to achieve these objectives.
The main objective of the paper is to do a critic study of the use of typology methodologies within pasture-based farming systems (PBFS), especially those situated in less favoured areas, showing in each case the more relevant variables or indicators determining the farming system classification. Another objective is to do an overview of the most used farming system typology methodologies in general. First some considerations about the concept of farming system and approaches to its study have been done. Next, the farming system typology methodologies have been showed in general to different farming systems, but addressed preferably to PBFS. The different tools integrated in these methodologies have been considered: sampling methods, sources of data, variables or indicators obtained from available data and techniques of analysis (statistical or not). Methods for farming system classification have been presented (expert methods, analytical methods or a combination of both types). Among the statistical methods, the multivariate analysis has been overall treated, including the principal component analysis and the cluster analysis. Finally, the use of farming system typology methodologies on different pasture-based farming systems has been presented. The most important aspects considered are following: the main objective of the typology, the main animal species, the employed methods of classification and the main variables involved in this classification.
The Environment Department of the Government of Andalusia (Spain) has recently undertaken the responsibility of integrating extensive livestock grazing as a tool for fire prevention in several Natural Parks of the region. With the participation of 19 shepherds, 910 ha of fuelbreaks are being maintained by sheep and goat flocks. Their effect is being monitored and specific research is being carried out to adjust the system. In exchange for the service provided, shepherds are paid proportionally both to the surface of fuelbreaks they maintain, and to the biomass control outcome they achieve. This is an extra income that drives their production systems towards sustainable activities integrated in the conservation of forest resources. On the other hand, extensive and scarcely managed forest pine plantations and oak-tree communities are in need of diversification (naturalization) actions. Intense grazing – by domestic or wild herbivores –has always been present in Mediterranean forest and rangelands, contributing to their diversity and dynamics. Therefore, livestock grazing is nowadays a tool that can efficiently collaborate with other initiatives in the naturalization of many simplified forest ecosystems. Both fire prevention and naturalization are main forest management issues in the 21 st century, and livestock breeders have the opportunity to team up, enhance their extensive production systems and benefit from the increased social and economical recognition of their activity. Pastoralisme dans les parcs naturels d'Andalousie : un outil pour la prévention des incendies et le retour à l'état naturel des écosystèmes Résumé. Le Département pour l'Environnement du Gouvernement Autonome de l'Andalousie (Espagne) a récemment pris la responsabilité d'intégrer l'élevage extensif comme outil pour la protection contre les incendies dans plusieurs parcs naturels de la région. Avec la participation de 19 bergers, 910 ha de coupures de combustible sont entretenus par des troupeaux de moutons et de chèvres. L'impact de cette intégration est suivi et fait l'objet d'une recherche spécifique pour ajuster le système. Les bergers sont payés pour le service réalisé proportionnellement à la surface de coupure de combustible qu'ils maintiennent et aux résultats du contrôle de biomasses végétales. C'est un revenu supplémentaire qui conduit leurs systèmes de production vers des activités durables intégrées dans la conservation des ressources de la forêt. D'autre part, les repeuplements de pin et les communautés naturelles de chêne vert ont besoin d'actions de diversification (pour rendre ces surfaces à leur état naturel). Le pâturage intensif – par des herbivores domestiques ou sauvages – a été toujours présent dans les forêts et les parcours méditerranéens, intervenant dans leur diversité et leur dynamique. Ainsi, actuellement, le bétail est un outil qui peut efficacement contribuer avec d'autres initiatives à ce processus pour rendre à leur état naturel de nombreux écosystèmes simplifiés de forêt. La prévention contre les incendies et le processus pour rendre ces surfaces à leur état naturel, sont les principaux outils de gestion de la forêt du 21 ème siècle. Ainsi, les éleveurs peuvent renforcer leurs systèmes de production extensifs et profiter de la reconnaissance sociale et économique de leur activité.
Multiple factors affect the continuity of goat farms: market conditions, availability of land, application of new technologies, etc. Among these factors, those related to labour play an important role. The aim of this study is to characterize all aspects related to labour in goat farms in Andalusia (Spain) and propose some strategies for improvement of worker's life conditions. 75 Andalusian goat breeders were interviewed. The main problems identified were: the length of working day, the lack of holidays and the lack of training. As a consequence of these problems, young people do not continue in goat production. Some strategies to solve these problems are: to improve feeding management, to apply new technologies and to promote associations that facilitate the hiring of replacement workers when farmers need to take a holiday.
Pastoral farming has been a feature of the Greek scene since antiquity. The geomorphology of the area, climatic conditions and the prevailing systems of agricultural production in lowland regions at any given time have all been conducive to the development and preservation of this productive system, principally of small ruminants, until the present day. In the present paper, a brief review is presented of the pastoralism system in the area of Greece through the millennia, highlighting the variety of driving forces on pastoralism. Importance is stressed on this human activity to the formation of present-day biodiversity. Over the last decades, the pastoralist system has been subjected to pressures for 'modernization' and intensification like the rest of the agricultural sector in Greece and has been influenced by the social demands and constraints imposed on individuals in the farming community by these same modernising processes. Adaptation to modern conditions has been accompanied by rapid contraction of the pastoral system, despite the noteworthy economic role it purportedly has to play in the national economy, not to mention its social role in keeping alive the steadily decaying mountainous and disadvantaged regions, which constitute a considerable proportion of the rural land area of Greece. An attempt is made to foresee the future of this system by examining the dynamics of each component.
This study is a large-scale survey based on interviews with owners of 151 Sardinian goat farms. The aim was to provide an up to date description of the goat production chain on the island. A multivariate statistical approach was applied to exploit the great number of available variables in the best way. The statistical analysis was carried out in two steps: principal component analysis and successive cluster analysis. In general, Sardinian goat farming showed a remarkable backwardness compared to dairy sheep farming. This is particularly true for farm facilities and productivity. Cluster analysis allowed us to identify five clusters, which corresponded to three principal farming systems. Firstly, a traditional system with little infrastructure and low management and productive levels was identified. Here the most frequent genotype was basically the native Sardinian breed. Secondly, there is a group of farms mainly located in the southwest of Sardinia where the facilities and the management were poor and production was on a low level than dairy sheep farming but generally better developed than the previous cluster. Thirdly, there is a group of farms using a sort of semi-intensive farming system, which was more similar to that of dairy sheep,
with relatively high productive and reproductive performance. In conclusion, this study identified different goat farming systems in Sardinia and emphasizes the need to develop strategies, which are able to take this diversity into account.
We formulate multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) as a nonlinear multivariate analysis method that integrates ideas from multidimensional scaling. MCA is introduced as a graphical technique that minimizes distances between connecting points in a graph plot. We use this geometrical approach to show how questions posed of categorical marketing research data may be answered with MCA in terms of closeness. We introduce two new displays, the star plot and line plot, which help illustrate the primary geometric features of MCA and enhance interpretation. Our approach, which extends Gifi (1981, 1990), emphasizes easy-to-interpret and managerially relevant MCA maps.
Shaded fuelbreaks and larger landscape fuel treatments, such as prescribed fire, are receiving renewed interest as forest protection strategies in the western United States. The effectiveness of fuelbreaks remains a subject of debate because of differing fuelbreak objectives, prescriptions for creation and maintenance, and their placement in landscapes with differing fire regimes. A well-designed fuelbreak will alter the behavior of wildland fire entering the fuel-altered zone. Both surface and crown fire behavior may be reduced. Shaded fuelbreaks must be created in the context of the landscape within which they are placed. No absolute standards for fuelbreak width or fuel reduction are possible, although recent proposals for forested fuelbreaks suggest 400 m wide bands where surface fuels are reduced and crown fuels are thinned. Landscape-level treatments such as prescribed fire can use shaded fuelbreaks as anchor points, and extend the zone of altered fire behavior to larger proportions of the landscape. Coupling fuelbreaks with area-wide fuel treatments can reduce the size, intensity, and effects of wildland fires.
Agro-pastoral systems have significantly contributed in shaping the landscapes of the Mediterranean basin. These systems vary widely according to the differing climatic, cultural and socio-economic conditions under which they developed; from the Parcours of the Maghreb steppes to the dehesas in the Iberian peninsula, and from the Mediterranean islands to inland mountain regions. Their present particularities developed both in response to internal needs within the farming systems (need to increase production while reducing costs) and external forces (competition with other activities for the use of land). In many cases recent changes evolved from increased grazing. Overgrazing represents one of the causes for desertification in many areas of the Mediterranean region. To mitigate this problem a better knowledge of agropastoral systems is first needed. Then, methods must be devised to model and assess environmental impacts, land suitability to grazing, and optimal stocking rate.
The general aim of the present study was to characterise and typify a group of meat sheep farms that form part of the record data network of an Aragonese co-operative using different variables: sociological, structural, technical, income and costs and economic results. The sample was formed by 56 Aragonese farms. In order to avoid inter-annual variations, data used were the mean data of a five-year period running from 2000 to 2004. A factor analysis was used to reveal the interrelations between different variables that characterise farms. The results of this analysis served as the basis for a subsequent segmentation by applying a cluster analysis. After the establishment of groups, a variance analysis was performed to identify statistical differences in a set of additional variables that were considered necessary to gain practical significance in the typology. Four groups of farms were differentiated, mainly based on structural, technical and economic variables. According to the variables that characterise the defined typologies, the different possibilities of evolution of each of them were analysed to adapt to changing contexts in terms of costs, income, labour and agricultural policy measures.
– We studied the characteristics of 21 conventional and two organic sheep enterprises in the north of Granada Province. Most of the herds were mixed sheep and goat farms, with emphasis on sheep production. We considered aspects related to management systems, productive behaviour and technological and economic characteristics of the herds. All these may indicate barriers and potential for the expansion of sustainable organic sheep systems in this area. Information was obtained through semi-structured interviews to farmers in 2003. RESUME – "Système de production ovine dans le nord de la province de Grenade. Études de cas". Dans ce travail on analyse les caractéristiques de 23 exploitations d´élevage de l'Altiplano de la province de Grenade, 21 en élevage conventionnel et deux en biologique. La plupart font de l'élevage de moutons et l'on décrit les pratiques utilisées, les systèmes de production, les caractéristiques technologiques et économiques afin d'étudier les potentialités qui existent pour l'extension de l'élevage biologique dans la région. L'information a éte obtenue en 2003 en réalisant des entretiens semi-structurés avec les éleveurs.
Can grazing by goats eliminate potentially combustible plant biomass and thereby change the flammability of mediterranean vegetation?
Doñana Natural Park, SW Spain.
The effect of goat grazing was evaluated, over a period of 42 mo, in 100 ha of pine forest understorey with an average density of 217 trees·ha−1. Grazing by large herbivores was halted temporarily in the study area, with wild deer excluded from 1970, and domestic goats excluded from 2002. However, following the creation of grazing exclusion plots and sampling of the vegetation within as a control, adult female Payoya goats were introduced to the area in spring 2007. Vegetation was sampled twice yearly using the point-intercept method, and data of frequency, cover and phytovolume obtained. The study was completed with an analysis of change in the flammability of the study area (determined using data on the phytovolume and flammability of species). Changes in species richness and species diversity were determined.
After 42 mo, the phytovolume of the ungrazed vegetation had increased significantly by 32%, while bare soil had decreased by 5%. This gave rise to a significant increase in flammability of 25%. Within the grazed area, species phytovolume decreased significantly by 34%, leading to a significant increase in bare soil of 51%, while the flammability of the area decreased by 22%. The number of species remained constant throughout the study at 20 species. Significant differences in species diversity were observed between grazed and ungrazed areas after 42 mo of grazing (species diversity index after 42 mo of exclusion = 1.59 ± 0.17, species diversity index after 42 mo of grazing = 0.95 ± 0.13).
Monitoring of the scrub understorey has shown the positive impact of grazing goats: the resulting decrease in the quantity of total phytovolume (easily combustible vegetation) induces changes in species diversity without lowering species richness and reduces the risk of fire.
Grazing livestock freely select landscape resources, unless they are herded or constrained by fences. Automated animal control (AAC) systems offer an alternative to physical fences by using animal-positioning technology and aversive stimuli to deter animals from staying in sensitive environments and so limit their impact. This paper reports on a replicated field experiment completed to test whether occasional stimuli (audio cue followed by a mild electric stimulus), delivered by discontinuously activated AAC collars, could suffice to modify the grazing behavior of groups of cattle. Four groups of eight steers were confined in 8-ha rectangular paddocks that had an ad libitum supplement feeder located in one end to attract cattle. The steers' positional information was recorded continuously for 3 d using a GPS receiver encased in a collar fitted around their neck. These data were used to characterize their use of the paddocks without intervention. Subsequently a restriction zone was activated on the collars. This zone contained the supplement feeders and represented approximately 10% of the paddock area. Cattle movement was again monitored during a second 3-d period, in which the steers were subjected to discontinuous aversive stimuli (5 min of stimulation followed by a random 0-30 min interval without stimulation) if they were located inside or moved into the restriction zone. Cattle visits to the restriction zone were shorter and the return interval longer when steers were subjected to discontinuous stimulation. Overall, there was a 97% reduction in the use of the restriction zone between the first and second deployments. These results suggest that grazing impact can be drastically reduced by making a zone less desirable through discontinuous aversive stimulation. Such a discontinuous (25% of the time on) AAC system can reduce power consumption in collars and so help overcome energy supply limitations that hinder commercial AAC applications.
In recent decades there has been a worldwide increase in the intensification process of the livestock sector. This study looks into the changes that have taken place in goat farms in less favoured areas of Spain by comparing the situation of systems in the Northern Sierra of Seville (SNS), a traditional goat farming area in Spain, in the years 2002 and 2008. The information for this study was collected in 2002 and 2008, from a sample of 22 and 23 dairy goat farmers, respectively. A farm survey was conducted, composed of 95 items, grouped into the following sections: animal base, infrastructures and facilities, feeding, reproduction, milk production and animal health. For either of the two years of study a multivariate analysis has been conducted through a multiple correspondence analysis followed by a cluster analysis. Four groups have been identified for each year, showing a diverse range of farms whereby the most intensive farms coexist with those that continue to practise grazing. The following main changes have been observed throughout the study: (i) the herd size is increasing; (ii) the supply of concentrates and straw has increased significantly but use of forage has decreased; (iii) the lactation length has increased; (iv) milking facilities and feed distribution systems have been modernized; and (v) the animal health has substantially improved. Other important changes, although less significant, are the establishment of reproductive groups on the farms, genetic improvement of herds by absorbing the dairy breed Florida and improving goat productivity. Most changes have focused on intensifying the productive systems. Some drivers behind these changes are the loss of grazing as a feed source for goats, acceptable prices for the purchase of feeds during the period studied, the increase in milk demand from industry, EU aids and willingness of the farmers to improve their working conditions. Evolutions of purchase feed and sold milk prices together with EU agricultural policy evolution will determine the future of dairy goat production.
Livestock grazing of fuelbreaks is a silvopastoral practice which is promoted in several Mediterranean regions with the objective of improving wildfire prevention. In the grazed fuelbreak network in Andalusia (Spain), over 2000ha of fuelbreaks were characterized and grazing in them was evaluated in 2008 and 2009. The grazing evaluation was based on several visual assessments of the utilization rate of vegetation by livestock and the general grazing level observed. These parameters were employed to classify fuelbreaks into four levels of accomplishment of the grazing objectives, both through individual assessments (2008) and with the aid of an automatic procedure based on discriminant analysis (2009). The accuracy of the automatic classification functions for 2009 reached 86%. This value remained high (82%) when only the parameter with the most discriminatory power (the mean general grazing level) and predefined thresholds were employed. Based on these results, a streamlined monitoring system is proposed to evaluate grazing in fuelbreaks. Regarding fuelbreak characteristics, larger shrub volumes were found to negatively affect the accomplishment of grazing objectives. For fuelbreak surface area, distance to animal shelter and mean steepness, the data were non-conclusive. Both goat and sheep flocks demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing fuel loads.
In order to maintain small ruminant grazing systems it is necessary to know precisely how they work and what actions can be taken to improve them. The objective of this paper was to characterize, classify, analyse and propose improvements for the dairy goat grazing systems in three countries from the western Mediterranean area: Spain, France and Italy. A multivariate analysis was conducted with 21 indicators obtained from the data collected from 45 farms. As a result of the multivariate analysis, 82.5% of variance was explained by two principal components. The first component included proportion of cultivated pasture area and cultivated pasture area per goat. The second included goats present and forage supply per goat. After conducting a cluster analysis based on these two principal components, farms were classified into four groups. Group 1 was made up of French and Italian farms, which had a smaller territorial base but a high cultivated pasture area per goat, contributing to greater self-sufficiency in feed. However the concentrate per goat was too high in relation to milk production, which was medium. The difference between milk income and feed cost is also medium. Group 2 was basically made up of Italian farms. The farms in this group had the most extensive management systems, with a low use of inputs. However, the milk production was low, meaning that the difference between milk income and feed cost was also low. Group 3 was mainly made up of Spanish farms. On these farms the concentrate supply was excessive and the forage supply was low. The milk production per goat was medium and the difference between milk income and feed cost was small. Group 4 was made up mainly of French farms. The farms of this group had a moderate supply of concentrate although the forage supply was very high. They had a high milk production, which lead to a large difference between milk income and feed cost per goat.
Forty-six dehesa sheep farms of Extremadura (SW Spain) were analyzed on the basis of previously determined technical and economic indicators. A principal component analysis gave five principal components – related to intensification, profitability, and livestock mix – that characterized the farms. Using multivariate techniques based on these factors, a farm typology was established with six categories—three of sheep alone at different levels of intensification, and three of sheep in combination with beef cattle or Iberian pig. This typology enabled homogeneous groups of farms to be considered for possible administrative actions relating to their optimal dimensions and stocking rates.
Andalusia is the second goat milk-producing region in Europe and therefore pastoral goat systems are important. In order to maintain these types of systems it is necessary to know precisely how they work and what actions can be taken to improve them. In this study the authors have set out the following objectives: (i) to characterize and analyze the viability of pastoral dairy goat systems in Andalusia, (ii) to use the results of this characterization and analysis to suggest improvements to these systems and (iii) to evaluate the suitability of the FAO-CIHEAM set of indicators for dairy goat systems linked to grazing. After carrying out a multivariate analysis using data collected in 18 farms during 2006, results point to 69.3% of variance, which is explained by two principal components (PC). The first includes Number of goats present, Milk yield per goat per year, Proportion of milk produced in autumn, Concentrate consumed per goat per year and Total labor per 100 goats. The second has Total area per goat, Scrubland area per goat and Forage consumed per goat per year. Based on these two principal components, farms have been classified into three groups, each of them using different strategies to maintain economic viability. The FAO-CIHEAM set of indicators for sheep and goat production systems is valid when analyzing pastoral dairy goat systems in Andalusia. However, some indicators need to be adjusted, particularly those pertaining to certain technical and economic aspects of grazing areas and seasonal variations.
The research was carried out in the “Sierra y Cañones de Guara” Natural Park, a protected mountain area located in the Central
Pyrenees (Huesca, Spain). In this territory, a notorious recession of agricultural activities has been observed in recent decades, which has
originated changes in the type and intensity of land utilization and, simultaneously, led to environmental and landscape degradation.
The main goal of this research was to analyse what characteristics of the current sheep farming systems could explain different
patterns of utilization of the grazing resources. Information was obtained through direct interviews with all sheep farmers that used
the grazing resources of the Park in 2000 (n=53). Specific information on grazing management (grazing areas, grazing periods,
number and type of grazing animals) was collected together with data on family characteristics, labour, flock management, land
use, continuity, recent changes in farming and farmers opinions. Principal Components Analysis was used to examine relationships
among original variables. Farming systems were then characterized in four homogeneous groups using Cluster Analysis. Finally, a
Logistic Regression allowed determining relationships between the level of intensification of management and several social and
technical features.
Intensification of farm management was linked to the type and intensity of land utilization: the higher the intensification of the
reproduction system the shorter the grazing period and the lower number of grazing animals. Besides, chances of continuity were
critical in some groups of farms, especially in some of the most extensive ones, while many farms with good chances of
permanence showed more intensive management strategies but lower utilization of grazing resources. In this type of agroecosystems,
rural development policies with conservation purposes should focus on farming systems with more environmentally
desirable management strategies, and consequently enhance their chances of continuity.
The sustainability of livestock farming systems (LFS) in relation to global concerns about climate change, population dynamics and the quality of the agro-ecosystem services that are provided to society and their trade-offs has become a fundamental issue for public and scientific debate. However, LFS differ widely in terms of the use of resources, degree of intensification, species and orientation of production, local/regional socio-economic and market context, cultural roles, etc. Therefore, we need to disaggregate livestock farming systems when analysing any aspect of sustainability.
Atlantic heaths are semi-natural habitats of high biodiversity interest which once covered large areas of the Atlantic Region. Nowadays these heathlands are dramatically reduced in many countries although they still cover wide areas in the north-west Iberian Peninsula, especially in the poorest and most socially marginal areas that are frequently affected by wildfires. We review the role of livestock grazing as a sustainable management strategy for heathlands in Europe. We have worked on a generalized conceptual framework for the management of a resource of nutritional and environmental value by drawing together evidence from studies of the livestock and the community ecology of grazed plants and the associated fauna.Key factors that influence grazing impact, such as type of livestock (animal species and breed) and their management are discussed. Goats thrive better than sheep, and horses than cattle,when heathland vegetation is the predominant resource available. Regardless of the type of livestock species managed, the low nutritive value of this vegetation hinders the maintenance of productive groups of suckler dams with offspring through the grazing season. The nutritional requirements of livestock can be met by adding improved pasture areas to heathlands. Under that strategy, sheep have the best productive performance and cattle the poorest. Management of mixed flocks with goats can lead to a more efficient use of vegetation, improve productivity and develop a patchier habitat which supports a richer associated fauna. Overall the results indicate that the sustainability of livestock grazing in these marginal lands will be achieved if they are managed effectively according to the available vegetation and their effects on the biodiversity.
a b s t r a c t This article presents the evolution, actual situation and prospects for goat production sys-tems in Spain, taking into account the present day changes of socio-economic, technological and agricultural policies of the European Union (EU). Spain is ranked second in goat pop-ulation and third in goat milk yield within the EU, nevertheless, similar to the situation in the EU, the goat production systems in Spain are in a critical situation, basically because of the increasing production costs and the lack of a strong central structure in this sector. To improve viability of goat farms in Spain, which, for the most part play an important social and environmental role in the less-developed rural areas, it is necessary to establish a series of strategies. These strategies include: (i) strengthening of the central structure in the sector; (ii) improvement in the training and management capacity of goat farmers and cheese makers; (iii) enhancement of promotion and recognition of goat-related products; (iv) taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the new European Union Common Agricultural Policy; (v) improvement of farmers' quality of life, so that they can maintain their goat operations for future generations; and (vi) increasing development and research activities in this sub-sector of livestock farming.
Two types of agroforestry systems can be found within the Segura river basin: (a) silvopastoral systems (forest-pasture-ruminants)
on cold and moist mountain zones (1,000–2,000 m); — occupying 20% of the basin, where the Segura river originates and the
major proportion of protected forest is concentrated — but where human presence is insignificant (1%) — livestock activity
is scarce (11.6% of the census), and (b) agrosilvopasture systems (sheep-cereal-rangeland), on dry and cold high tableland
(500–1,000 m altitude); occupying 40% of the basin; sustaining half of the ruminants; where half of the land is cultivated
under dryland agriculture and sustains a high biodiversity, its human population is scarce (16% of total basin); the economic
situation is marginal and; soil erosion losses are high (40% of total). In the other 40% of the basin (lower coastal areas),
true agroforestry systems do not exist because livestock is fed with forage by-products from agriculture and concentrates,
maintaining high stocking densities, exceeding the capacity of the natural resources. Altogether, agroforestry systems occupy
60% of the basin territory and maintain 62% of the livestock population, but only 17% of the human population, who live under
a marginal economic situation and depend on external assistance to maintain their economic activity and to protect the water,
forest and biodiversity resources of the basin.
In the past 30 years world production of ruminant meat and milk has increased by about 40%, while the global area of grassland has increased by only 4%. This is because most of the increase in ruminant meat and milk production has been achieved by increasing the production in mixed and landless production systems and much less so in pastoral systems. Pastoral systems depend almost exclusively on grazing, while mixed and landless systems rely on a mix of concentrates (food crops) and roughage, consisting of grass, fodder crops, crop residues, and other sources of feedstuffs. A model was developed to describe these two aggregated production systems for different world regions, each having typical production characteristics, such as milk production per animal for dairy cattle, and off-take rates and carcass weights for non-dairy cattle, sheep and goats. The energy needed by the animals for the production of meat and milk is calculated on the basis of requirements for maintenance, grazing and labour, pregnancy, and lactation. We implemented the FAO Agriculture Towards 2030 projection for crop and livestock production and assumed that the past trend in the area of grassland will continue in the coming three decades. This assumption implies a rapid intensification of grassland management with a 33% increase in global grass consumption, which will only be possible with increasing fertilizer inputs, use of grass-clover mixtures and improved grassland management.
The foraging behaviour (grazing time and diet composition), live-weight (LW) changes and parasitic infection (faecal egg counts of gastrointestinal nematodes) of 12 beef cows, 84 ewes and 84 goats suckling their offspring, managed in mixed grazing on heathlands with 24% of improved pasture of perennial ryegrass-white clover, were studied during the years 2003 and 2006. The results showed that goats tended to graze for a longer time, and utilised significantly more heathland vegetation than cattle and sheep, including in their diet in an average of 0.39 herbaceous plants, 0.11 gorse and 0.51 heather over the grazing season, comparing with respective mean values of 0.85, 0.02 and 0.13 in cattle and sheep. Dietary overlap was higher between cattle and sheep (0.76) than between sheep and goats (0.53) or between cattle and goats (0.47). Despite the high performance of autumn-calving cows in spring, sheep had the best LW changes per livestock unit (LU) during the whole grazing season. Goats' performance per LU was lower than in sheep but higher than in spring-calving cows. Regarding offspring production, lambs had higher LW gains per LU than calves and kids. Mean nematode eggs/g fresh faeces (epg) during the grazing season were higher in goats (91 epg) compared with sheep (34 epg) and cattle (14 epg), particularly from September to December. In conclusion, sheep performed best on these heathlands with improved pasture areas if the entire grazing season was considered, despite the good level of production in spring from autumn-calving cows. The results suggested the complementary use of goats in order to increase the effective utilisation of the available vegetation, achieving production levels similar to those from spring-calving cows. Therefore, mixed flocks of sheep and goats would be the most appropriate sustainable systems from the animal production and vegetation use points of view.
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