Human appropriation of net primary production related to livestock provisioning ecosystem services in southern Patagonia.

PL PERI; YM ROSAS; G MARTÍNEZ PASTUR

Sustainability

MDPI

Año: 2022 vol. 14 p. 7617 - 7618

2071-1050

Human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP) integrates ecological and socioeconomicperspectives on land use by quantifying the amount of net primary production (NPP)appropriated by society through biomass harvest from the ecosystem. The main objective of thisstudy was to determine the spatial patterns of HANPP related to lamb and wool production fromsheep farms across the province of Santa Cruz. The HANPP was obtained by dividing the sum ofthe biomass used in livestock products (lamb and wool) by the NPP. In addition, we examined thespatial relationship between HANPP and potential plant biodiversity and net carbon balance at thefarm level under livestock land use across our study region. At the regional level, livestock productionaccounted for an average of 11.35% of appropriated NPP, and HANPP ranged from 0.75 to 50%.The map of HANPP across Santa Cruz showed low values in the vegetation transition (ecotone)between Nothofagus antarctica forests and grasslands in the west, in the south, and in wetlands wherethe most productive rangelands dominate. High values were observed in the northwest and centralareas of the province. There were differences in HANPP across vegetation types with mean valuesthat varied from 3.93% in grasslands on the Humid Magellanic Steppe to 12.33% in the CentralPlateau. Simple linear regression analysis for HANPP evaluated in Southern Patagonia showed anegative linear relationship (p < 0.05) with vascular plant biodiversity and net carbon balance atthe farm level. The method used to map HANPP related to livestock provisioning ecosystem services(ES) in the present study (lamb and wool), may be integrated into decision support systems.In this context, low HANPP values (