Aboriginal settlements of arid Patagonia: Preserving bio- or sociodiversity? The case of the Mapuche pastoral Cushamen Reserve

Aboriginal settlements of arid Patagonia: Preserving bio- or sociodiversity? The case of the Mapuche pastoral Cushamen Reserve

Preservation of biodiversity can be at odds with preservation of sociodiversity, i.e., human groups with different cultures, social organization and economic activities coexisting within a region. We analyzed this problem in the Cushamen Reserve, a pastoralist Mapuche aboriginal settlement in Patago...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of arid environments Vol. 74; no. 10; pp. 1329 - 1339
Main Authors: Golluscio, R.A., Román, M.E., Cesa, A., Rodano, D., Bottaro, H., Nieto, M.I., Betelú, A., Golluscio, L.A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2010
Subjects:
biodiversity
Carrying capacity
Desertification
Economics
Farms
Harvest index
herbivores
humans
Income
Indigenous cultures
issues and policy
lambs
Pastoralism
poverty
Preservation
Reserves
Settlements
Sheep
Sheep breeding
social structure
stocking rate
Stockings
Sustainability
wool
Argentina
Argentina, Patagonia
PSW, Argentina, Patagonia
Harvest index
Carrying capacity
Pastoralism
Sustainability
Desertification
Sheep breeding
Indigenous cultures
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Preservation of biodiversity can be at odds with preservation of sociodiversity, i.e., human groups with different cultures, social organization and economic activities coexisting within a region. We analyzed this problem in the Cushamen Reserve, a pastoralist Mapuche aboriginal settlement in Patagonia, Argentina. We found that the current stocking rate of domestic herbivores is twice the rangeland carrying capacity, and this overstocking has resulted in a 20–30% reduction in plant cover, productivity, floristic richness and pastoral value compared to similar sites located on neighboring capitalist farms. The potential economic income of a generic Cushamen farm (625 ha) under the current stocking rate (0.27 sheep units∙ha −1) and productive parameters (wool and number of lambs produced per sheep each year and the number of sheep that died or were discarded per year) is above the family poverty line, but this potential may be only rarely achieved due to interannual variability of productive parameters. However, under the carrying capacity, only an improbable combination of 0.84 lambs∙sheep −1 yr −1, 5.5 kg wool∙sheep −1 yr −1 and a 16% rate of annual sheep discarding would equal the present potential income. Active policies aimed at increasing carrying capacity of the Cushamen Reserve are needed to preserve both bio- and sociodiversity.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.05.012
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0140-1963
1095-922X
DOI:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.05.012