Water status of plants under strips management in shrub-grass steppe of Southern Patagonia

PERI P.L.; RIVERA E.; STURZENBAUM M.V.; SUAREZ D.; BILLONI S.; MORA J.; WATSON B.; MILICEVIC F.

Rosario

Congreso; IX International Rangeland Congress; 2011

Asociación Argentina para el Manejo de Pastizales Naturales, INTA – Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

In Santa Cruz province, Junellia tridens shrubland cover 2,8 millions ha. These communities grows at sites with coarser-textured soils forming shrubs of 60-70 cm tall and 60% cover where water is the most important factor regulating the primary production. There are no antecedents of shrublands management to improve grass and animal production. Therefore, the objective of this work was to determine the water status of shrubs, tussock and short grasses of a shrub-grass steppe ecosystem under strips management as a physiological variable that explain plant response.