Silvopastoral systems with traditional management in southeastern Mexico: a prototype of livestock agroforestry for cleaner production

Abstract

Abstract Silvopastoral systems are a prototype of agroforestry with a livestock component, which may be characterized as cleaner production as they provide a variety of goods and services to society; one of their functions is to help adapt to and mitigate climate change. In this article, traditional silvopastoral systems with cattle are characterized, and 35 pastures with silvopastoral management in communities of the Lower Grijalva hydrographic region of Chiapas and Tabasco in Southeastern Mexico are evaluated. This article discusses the general context as well as technical and economic aspects of the cattle raising units (CRU). The high frequency (71%) of land use conversion from maize fields to pastures demonstrates that a significant process of increased establishment of cattle raising is under way. Pastures have an average age of 17.9 years, soils are of medium to high quality, and the dominant herbaceous species are grasses. Scattered trees (ST) in pastures are remnants of the original vegetation which has largely disappeared due to change in land use, with 53 species belonging to 24 botanical families and an average density of 12.3 trees ha−1. In living fences (LF), 32 tree species belonging to 18 botanical families were found, with an average density of 45.8 trees per 100 linear m. It is estimated that on average, one hectare of pasture with a dominance of Cynodon plectostachyus grass (13.10 Mg C ha−1) surrounded by a living fence (7.28 Mg C ha−1) and containing scattered trees (3.00 Mg C ha−1) has a total accumulation of 23.38 Mg C ha−1. Finally, provision of several environmental services, levels of production or yields, and animal products of the CRU with treeless pastures and with two types of silvopastoral systems are analyzed. In order to be considered a form of sustainable development, traditional silvopastoral systems must gradually be transformed into intensive silvopastoral systems. This requires the commitment and co-responsibility of all social actors involved in order to plan community-based, municipal, state-wide, and national policy related to agroforestry with an animal component.