Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica
In the dry regions of Central America, forests in cattle ranches are used as a refuge for cattle during the dry season, and there is no much information about this practice. To determine the frequency of this practice and how it fits in farm management. We conducted semi-structured interviews with c...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica
2020
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| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111580 |
| _version_ | 1855521725853204480 |
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| author | Godinot, F. Somarriba, E. Finegan, B. Delgado Rodríguez, D. |
| author_browse | Delgado Rodríguez, D. Finegan, B. Godinot, F. Somarriba, E. |
| author_facet | Godinot, F. Somarriba, E. Finegan, B. Delgado Rodríguez, D. |
| author_sort | Godinot, F. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | In the dry regions of Central America, forests in cattle ranches are used as a refuge for cattle during the dry season, and there is no much information about this practice. To determine the frequency of this practice and how it fits in farm management. We conducted semi-structured interviews with cattle ranchers in 43 farms in Liberia County, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Cattle farmers suffered from the loss of profitability due to droughts, fire, and cattle theft. Cattle browsing in the forest was used by 70 % of farms, mostly between March and May. No type of farm or feeding strategy was associated with forest browsing. The high variability in farm management did not provide a distinct classification of feeding strategies. We found a difference in farm structure and feed types between ranches in the plains and mountain slopes. The decision to use forests for browsing seemed to rely on a trade-off between animal welfare and ease of management. Traditional knowledge about cattle behavior in forests was variable and often limited to forest edges and pastures. This research shows that forests should be taken into consideration when analyzing cattle ranching in dry regions of Central America. We recommend a further study on feeding strategies and the impact of cattle on forest integrity to determine if agricultural policymakers should foster these low-costs alternatives. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace111580 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publishDateRange | 2020 |
| publishDateSort | 2020 |
| publisher | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica |
| publisherStr | Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1115802024-11-15T10:37:37Z Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica Bosques tropicales estacionalmente secos son importantes para ganaderos en el noroeste costarricense Godinot, F. Somarriba, E. Finegan, B. Delgado Rodríguez, D. secondary forests tropical forests cattle farming In the dry regions of Central America, forests in cattle ranches are used as a refuge for cattle during the dry season, and there is no much information about this practice. To determine the frequency of this practice and how it fits in farm management. We conducted semi-structured interviews with cattle ranchers in 43 farms in Liberia County, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Cattle farmers suffered from the loss of profitability due to droughts, fire, and cattle theft. Cattle browsing in the forest was used by 70 % of farms, mostly between March and May. No type of farm or feeding strategy was associated with forest browsing. The high variability in farm management did not provide a distinct classification of feeding strategies. We found a difference in farm structure and feed types between ranches in the plains and mountain slopes. The decision to use forests for browsing seemed to rely on a trade-off between animal welfare and ease of management. Traditional knowledge about cattle behavior in forests was variable and often limited to forest edges and pastures. This research shows that forests should be taken into consideration when analyzing cattle ranching in dry regions of Central America. We recommend a further study on feeding strategies and the impact of cattle on forest integrity to determine if agricultural policymakers should foster these low-costs alternatives. [Introducción]: En las regiones secas de Centroamérica, los ganaderos llevan su hato a los bosques de sus fincas durante la temporada seca, pero se sabe poco sobre esta práctica. [Objetivo]: Determinar la frecuencia de esta práctica, y cómo se ajusta al manejo de fincas. [Metodología]: Se administraron 43 entrevistas semiestructuradas a ganaderos del cantón de Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. [Resultados]: Los ganaderos padecían de la pérdida de rentabilidad de la ganadería debido a sequias, incendios y robo de ganado. El ramoneo en bosques se usaba en el 70 % de las fincas, mayormente entre marzo y mayo. No se pudo asociar esta práctica con un tipo específico de finca o estrategias de alimentación. La alta variabilidad en manejo de finca impidió explicar las diferencias en prácticas de alimentación. Se encontraron diferencias en la estructura y tipos de alimentación entre fincas de bajura y en las pendientes de montañas. La decisión de usar el bosque para ramoneo parecía basarse en un trade-off entre bienestar animal y facilidad de manejo. El conocimiento de los finqueros sobre el comportamiento del ganado en bosques era variable y limitado a los márgenes del bosque y pasturas. [Conclusiones]: Se destaca que los bosques se deben considerar cuando se estudia la ganadería en regiones secas de Centroamérica. Recomendamos estudios de seguimiento sobre estrategias de alimentación y sobre el impacto del ganado sobre la integridad ecológica de los bosques secos, para determinar si los decisores de política deben fomentar este tipo de alternativas de bajo costo. 2020-07-01 2021-02-28T10:58:09Z 2021-02-28T10:58:09Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111580 en Open Access Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica Godinit, F., Somarriba, E., Finegan, B. and Delgado-Rodríguez, D., 2020. Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica/Bosques tropicales estacionalmente secos son importantes para ganaderos en el noroeste costarricense. Ciencias ambientales, 54(2): 20-51. https://doi.org/10.15359/rca.54-2.2 |
| spellingShingle | secondary forests tropical forests cattle farming Godinot, F. Somarriba, E. Finegan, B. Delgado Rodríguez, D. Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica |
| title | Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica |
| title_full | Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica |
| title_fullStr | Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica |
| title_full_unstemmed | Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica |
| title_short | Secondary Tropical Dry Forests Are Important to Cattle Ranchers in Northwestern Costa Rica |
| title_sort | secondary tropical dry forests are important to cattle ranchers in northwestern costa rica |
| topic | secondary forests tropical forests cattle farming |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111580 |
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