Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras

Low altitude humid tropical mountains in Central America have experienced a process of livestock expansion during recent decades.However, the use of sloping areas for cattle grazingmay lead to significant soil degradation and thereforewe examined the influence of the slope gradient on soil degradati...

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Main Authors:	Blanco Sepúlveda, R., Nieuwenhuyse, Andreas
Format:	Artículo
Language:	Inglés
Published:	2015
Subjects:	TIERRAS DE PASTOREO DEGRADACION DEL SUELO COMPACTACION DEL SUELO FACTORES EDAFICOS ZONA DE MONTAÑA TROPICOS HUMEDOS
Online Access:	https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/7727 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816211000609

id	RepoCATIE7727
record_format	dspace
spelling	RepoCATIE77272021-12-22T20:26:47Z Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras Blanco Sepúlveda, R. Nieuwenhuyse, Andreas TIERRAS DE PASTOREO DEGRADACION DEL SUELO COMPACTACION DEL SUELO FACTORES EDAFICOS ZONA DE MONTAÑA TROPICOS HUMEDOS Low altitude humid tropical mountains in Central America have experienced a process of livestock expansion during recent decades.However, the use of sloping areas for cattle grazingmay lead to significant soil degradation and thereforewe examined the influence of the slope gradient on soil degradation in pastures in a humid tropical mountainous area in northern Honduras. Understanding this relationship permits estimates of the physical carrying capacity of the soil, which in turn may help to improve livestock use within the study area. Variables examined included soil bulk density, texture, organicmatter content and consistency aswell as visual indicators of soil and vegetation degradation. There is a significant positive correlation between the bulk density as a proxy for soil degradation and slope gradient. Furthermore, itwas foundthatwhen soils arewater-saturatedgrazing leads to severe degradation. Togetherwith visual indicators, these data showthat paddockswith slopes less than 30% have a carrying capacity between 900 and 1900 Animal Units (AU) ha−1 year−1 andmany are currently underutilized. Paddocks with slopes between 30 and 50% have a carrying capacity between 400 and 600 AU ha−1 year−1. Paddocks with slopes over 50% have the lowest carrying capacity: less than 200 AU ha−1 year−1. The latter are frequently over-used; most of them show clear signs of soil and vegetation degradation. Land use in these areas needs to change or their grazing management needs to be reorganized to adjust actual stocking rate to physical carrying capacity of the soils to prevent further degradation. 2015-11-18T06:01:58Z 2015-11-18T06:01:58Z 2013-06-14 Artículo 0341-8162 https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/7727 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816211000609 en Programa Agroambiental Mesoamericano (MAP). Fase I info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
institution	Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza
collection	Repositorio CATIE
language	Inglés
topic	TIERRAS DE PASTOREO DEGRADACION DEL SUELO COMPACTACION DEL SUELO FACTORES EDAFICOS ZONA DE MONTAÑA TROPICOS HUMEDOS
spellingShingle	TIERRAS DE PASTOREO DEGRADACION DEL SUELO COMPACTACION DEL SUELO FACTORES EDAFICOS ZONA DE MONTAÑA TROPICOS HUMEDOS Blanco Sepúlveda, R. Nieuwenhuyse, Andreas Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras
description	Low altitude humid tropical mountains in Central America have experienced a process of livestock expansion during recent decades.However, the use of sloping areas for cattle grazingmay lead to significant soil degradation and thereforewe examined the influence of the slope gradient on soil degradation in pastures in a humid tropical mountainous area in northern Honduras. Understanding this relationship permits estimates of the physical carrying capacity of the soil, which in turn may help to improve livestock use within the study area. Variables examined included soil bulk density, texture, organicmatter content and consistency aswell as visual indicators of soil and vegetation degradation. There is a significant positive correlation between the bulk density as a proxy for soil degradation and slope gradient. Furthermore, itwas foundthatwhen soils arewater-saturatedgrazing leads to severe degradation. Togetherwith visual indicators, these data showthat paddockswith slopes less than 30% have a carrying capacity between 900 and 1900 Animal Units (AU) ha−1 year−1 andmany are currently underutilized. Paddocks with slopes between 30 and 50% have a carrying capacity between 400 and 600 AU ha−1 year−1. Paddocks with slopes over 50% have the lowest carrying capacity: less than 200 AU ha−1 year−1. The latter are frequently over-used; most of them show clear signs of soil and vegetation degradation. Land use in these areas needs to change or their grazing management needs to be reorganized to adjust actual stocking rate to physical carrying capacity of the soils to prevent further degradation.
format	Artículo
author	Blanco Sepúlveda, R. Nieuwenhuyse, Andreas
author_facet	Blanco Sepúlveda, R. Nieuwenhuyse, Andreas
author_sort	Blanco Sepúlveda, R.
title	Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras
title_short	Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras
title_full	Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras
title_fullStr	Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras
title_full_unstemmed	Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras
title_sort	influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern honduras
publishDate	2015
url	https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/7727 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816211000609
work_keys_str_mv	AT blancosepulvedar influenceoftopographicandedaphicfactorsonvulnerabilitytosoildegradationduetocattlegrazinginhumidtropicalmountainsinnorthernhonduras AT nieuwenhuyseandreas influenceoftopographicandedaphicfactorsonvulnerabilitytosoildegradationduetocattlegrazinginhumidtropicalmountainsinnorthernhonduras
_version_	1808117734743998464

Influence of topographic and edaphic factors on vulnerability to soil degradation due to cattle grazing in humid tropical mountains in northern Honduras

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