Integrating Forestry, Sustainable Cattle-Ranching and Landscape Restoration
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31 Integrating forestry, sustainable cattle-ranching and landscape restoration Z. Calle, E. Murgueitio and J. Chará alle Z. C A proposed new image of tropical he livestock sector occupies about cattle-ranching involves animals grazing This example of natural in a shaded and biologically diverse intensification can simultaneously 30 percent of the land surface of environment, surrounded by high- improve a farming system, our planet through grazing and quality edible biomass. These bulls generate environmental goods and Tfeed-crop production. It is a leading driver graze under a rain tree Albizia saman at the El Hatico Reserve, El Cerrito, services and facilitate the release of deforestation, land degradation, pollu- Valle del Cauca, Colombia of fragile, marginal and strategic tion, climate change, the sedimentation of areas for strict conservation. coastal areas and invasions by alien species the natural dynamics of tropical forest (FAO and LEAD, 2006). The link between ecosystems1 (Wassenaara et al., 2007). livestock production and deforestation is A paradox of cattle-ranching in Latin strongest in Latin America, where cattle- America is that, even though it is currently ranching activities have expanded, mostly at the expense of forests. A simplified form 1 In tropical forest ecosystems, most nutrients Zoraida Calle is Coordinator of Ecological of cattle-ranching based on grass mono- are locked in living plants, animals and Restoration, Enrique Murgueitio is Executive cultures has been practised for centuries microorganisms. Closed nutrient cycles are Director and Julián Chará is Research in Latin America. This type of system has promoted by a highly diverse vegetation with Coordinator at the Centro para la Investigación dense networks of fine roots and mycorrhizal en Sistemas Sostenibles de Producción promoted environmental degradation and associations, coupled with efficient decom- Agropecuaria (CIPAV), Cali, Colombia. climate change because it goes against poser assemblages. Unasylva 239, Vol. 63, 2012/1 32 Cattle can help support complex soil food webs and restore fertility in degraded lands, such as here in the Cesar River valley, Cesar, Colombia olarte L. S the principal land use, occupying more has become instrumental as a means to protection of water resources by improv- than 550 million hectares (ha), its average consolidate land control (Murgueitio and ing soil properties and reducing pollution stocking and productivity rates are low Ibrahim, 2008). (Chará, 2010). Jobs could be created, and (0.59 animals per ha, and 19.9 kg of beef or However, tropical cattle-ranching high-quality food and other products could 89.7 litres of milk per ha per year, respec- activities can be improved and need not be produced, in a sustainable way. tively; FAO, 2006). With some exceptions, be destructive. Cattle have the potential This article describes ways to harness this land use has minimal per-animal and to act as “mobile sun-powered catalytic the power of the existing tropical per-ha production indexes and makes a converters”, 2 capable of transforming the cattle-ranching systems into intensive meagre contribution to rural employment cellulose in plant biomass into simple car- silvopastoral systems (ISPSs), explores in the region. bohydrates that support complex soil food sustainable timber production in these Despite its inefficiency and its multiple webs and help restore fertility in degraded systems, including how and why certain negative effects on the environment, cattle- lands (Patriquin and Moncayo, 1991). Sus- species are selected, and discusses ranching is not likely to decline any time tainably managed in silvopastoral systems incentives for implementing ISPSs. soon in Latin America. First, this activity and integrated with connectivity corridors is deeply rooted in the Portuguese and and protected areas, cattle-ranching can What are ISPSs? Spanish ancestry of the region. Second, even become a tool for landscape-scale Forest and landscape restoration must go a high and growing demand exists for restoration. The large-scale transition beyond afforestation, reforestation and all cattle products. Third, the activity from input-intensive cattle grazing on even ecological restoration to improve both has often been undertaken as a reaction degraded pastures to environmentally human livelihoods and ecological integrity to agricultural failures that result from friendly silvopastures could enhance (Minnemeyer et al., 2011; Laestadius et al., biophysical constraints (Hernández, 2001; the resilience of soil to degradation and 2011). Landscapes should be restored and Murgueitio, 2005). Finally, over time, it nutrient loss, sequester large amounts of managed for a balanced combination of carbon (1.2 to 6.1 tonnes per ha per year; ecosystem services and goods, not only Ibrahim et al., 2010; Udawatta and Jose, for increased forest cover. 2 Catalytic converters convert the toxic compo- nents of the exhaust of an internal combustion 2011), reduce greenhouse gas emissions It has been suggested that a high level of engine into less toxic substances. (Nair et al., 2011) and contribute to the food production can only be achieved in Unasylva 239, Vol. 63, 2012/1 33 ISPSs combine the high-density cultivation of fodder shrubs with improved tropical grasses and trees. This ISPS in Finca San Marcos, Tamalameque, Cesar, Colombia, incorporates Brachiaria humidicola (grass), Tithonia diversifolia (fodder shrub) and Acacia mangium (timber tree) chemically intensive and energy-demand- ing modern agriculture, which provides L. S a low-quality habitat for wildlife, while olarte alternative agriculture is doomed to low productivity, even if it is more biodiver- sity-friendly (Perfecto and Vandermeer, 2010). However, agricultural intensifica- from the same processes that provide profitable and modern farms in Colombia tion and sparing the land do not neces- ecosystem services. and other Latin American countries. sarily constitute a dichotomy; natural ISPSs are a form of agroforestry that Because of their higher stocking density intensification exists on the spectrum. combines the high-density cultivation of (2–5 head per ha), ISPSs allow farmers to This alternative seeks to maximize the fodder shrubs (more than 8 000 plants per concentrate production in the most suitable efficiency of biological processes such as ha) for the direct grazing of livestock with areas of their farms and release fragile photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and nutri- improved tropical grasses and trees. The lands for soil recovery and biodiversity ent recycling in order to boost biomass top vegetation layer may consist of trees or protection (Chará et al., 2011). Some key production and enhance soil organic matter. palms with densities ranging from 100 to features of ISPSs are high biomass pro- The inputs of naturally intensive systems 600 individuals per ha, in accordance with duction and the high nutritional quality of are biological processes rather than fossil the biophysical and climatic conditions of the fodder; rotational grazing with high fuels and synthetic compounds, and each agroecosystem. Tree products – such stocking rates and brief grazing periods they apply modern scientific knowledge as timber and fruit – may be directed to followed by long periods of plant recovery; to combine and manage species with local markets, agribusiness or the protec- and high per-ha productivity (Figure 1). different traits. ISPSs are a good example tion of biodiversity (Murgueitio et al., 2010). The proper functioning of ISPSs requires: of natural intensification, in which the ISPSs respond to the increasingly urgent • a permanent supply of good-quality productive benefits of the system stem need to transform tropical cattle-ranching water in mobile troughs and mineral- into an environmentally friendly activ- ized salt; ity that can be profitable in the short and • live fences planted at the periphery Land surface (1 000 ha) medium terms and capable of generating and internal divisions of paddocks; more and better rural jobs while provid- • electrical fencing or tape, either fixed 160 148 ing safe, high-quality food (meat, milk or mobile, to concentrate grazing on 140 and fruit), hides and wood. These systems narrow strips; 120 are suitable for beef, milk, dual-purpose • non-violent handling of livestock 100 or specialized cattle farming as well as (Ocampo et al., 2011). 80 buffalo, sheep and goats. ISPSs combine elements of traditional 60 54.8 ISPSs should be based on solid sci- livestock management, fodder banks and 40 entific and technological knowledge timber plantations, but are significantly (Dalzell et al., 2006; Shelton and Dalzell, different from these three land-use systems: 20 12.2 2007; Murgueitio et al., 2011; Murgueitio • Unlike conventional extensive cattle- 0 Extensive Improved ISPSs et al., 2012; Mahecha et al., 2012). ranching, ISPSs require rigorous man- treeless pasture They are being increasingly adopted in agement, administrative control and systems monocultures permanent adjustments based on care- By replacing extensive pastures with improved 1 ful monitoring. Management protocols pasture monocultures or ISPSs, it is possible to Land surface required to achieve an are simple but mandatory; for example, produce the same amount of meat in 36 percent annual production of 10 000 tonnes and 8 percent of the land area, respectively once the system is established, fire and (Murgueitio et al., 2012). of meat in the highly seasonal dry Caribbean region of Colombia