Efectos del pastoreo en riqueza florística, biomasa y cobertura de un pastizal de albardón, Argentina

The effects of grazing and breaks resting were analyzed regarding the floristic richness, the production of the dry matter and forage coverage of a degraded pasture from the Parana River Delta. The study covered 13 months, divided into a first sub-period with three treatments: continuous grazing with high load (1 equivalent cow.ha-1), closure with bimonthly cuts of vegetation, and closure without cuts, and second sub-period with: waterlogging and without closures. Vegetation data was analyzed by multivariate methods. According to the results, in contrast to continuous grazing, two-month rests covered completely the soil, increased native species richness, forage species of spring-summer-autumnal growth appeared and improved the offering of dry-matter in this growing season by 22,5 %. It is possible to favor values of the studied variables of the pasture and to improve the forage offer with proper management.