Silvopastoral systems in Patagonia, Argentina

PL PERI; G CABALLÉ; NE HANSEN; HA BAHAMONDE; MV LENCINAS; AR VON MÜLLER; S ORMAECHEA; V GARGAGLIONE; R SOLER ESTEBAN; M SARASOLA; V RUSCH; L BORRELLI; ME FERNÁNDEZ; J GYENGE; LE TEJERA; CE LLOYD; G MARTÍNEZ PASTUR

Temperate Agroforestry Systems

CABI International Publishers

Lugar: Wallingford; Año: 2017; p. 252 - 273

Patagonia region includes five provinces (Neuquén,Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego)with an area of 197 million hectares and extends fromlatitudes 37 to 52º 30ʹ S (Fig. 11.1). There are fourmain ecosystems within the region: the steppe (representing~93% of total area), where extensive sheepproduction is the main activity; the Andes Mountains,where most of the native forests grow on a narrow100 km wide strip of land (~1.8%); the ecotonedefined as forest?steppe boundary (~3.7%); and thevalleys (~1.5%) where agricultural production is animportant alternative (Peri, 2009a). In addition tonative vegetation, exotic trees were planted to satisfythe demand for timber products in the region. Rainfalldecreases from 4000 to 200 mm yr?1 from west toeast across the Andes Mountains, which act as an orographicbarrier to moist winds coming from thewest. This distinct precipitation gradient, togetherwith local edaphic and topographic variations, substantiallyinfluences patterns of vegetation distribution.