Intensificación de la ganadería en tiempos de cambio climático: Desafíos del pastoreo doméstico en las zonas áridas de la Patagonia argentina

Livestock grazing modifies and even degrades dryland ecosystems, which threatens the sustainability of livestock farming itself. It is essential to learn more about the effects of grazing on vegetation and soil in order to design strategies to avoid desertification, perhaps the most serious problem faced by dryland ecosystems. In this paper, we evaluate the changes in the functional traits of the plant community and the biological soil crust induced by the intensification of grazing in Patagonian ecosystems. This description, together with changes in diversity, composition, and ecosystem performance, can help us to understand the mechanisms by which the intensification of sheep grazing could degrade dryland ecosystems.