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Silvopastoral systems and their contribution to the environment

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 45th Anniversary
Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011. 107

Silvopastoral systems and their contribution to the

environment
J. Alonso
Instituto de Ciencia Animal, Apartado Postal 24, San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, Cuba
Email: jalonso@ica.co.cu

Some potentialities for the development of technologies were assessed to improve cattle agroecosystems and, at the same time, generate
environmental services through the use and adaptation of agricultural practices considering trees and shrubs as indispensable elements
in animal production. Different definitions of silvopastoral systems are discussed, as well as their function in the enhancement of pasture
production and quality and in the recovery of degraded soils and in the improvement of water resources. Besides, the importance of these
systems is analyzed as to the capture of carbon and gases with green house effect and in the conservation of the biodiversity. An analysis
of the international experience is performed about the payment of environmental services, as incentive to the use of trees and shrubs in
cattle rearing.
Key words: capture of carbon, gases with greenhouse effect, biodiversity

INTRODUCTION

The natural processes in our planet are constantly
changed by the participation of men, who search for
new goals, imposed by development models at global
scale. The most adverse effect proven (Boff 1999) is
related to the application and progressive adoption of
intensive methods, focused exclusively on a productive
goal, not taking into account the natural support of the
production systems.
Due to the irrational use of these intensive technolo-
gies and governmental policies, natural resources neces-
sary to encourage agricultural development in most of
the tropical countries experience an accelerated dete-
rioration, which endangers the fulfillment of the most
vital needs for future generations, with the consequent
risks on the ecological, social, political, and economic
stability in developing countries.
It is noted that animal production systems in the
tropics are based on the use of forage grasses in mon-
ocultures. They are characterized by their relatively low
nutritive value and irregular availability (Ramírez et al.
2005), due to the seasonal performance of rainfall and
temperatures in these regions. The degradation of pas-
tures and their low sustainability are some of the most
pressing problems in these systems.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, cattle rearing is
one of the principal applications in the use of land (FAO
2008). A considerable part of this activity is character-
ized by low levels of productivity and profitability, as
well as the origination of negative environmental effects.
Recent studies in this region show (Harvey et al. 2008)
very significant increments in the rates of deforestation,
along with processes of soil degradation, fragmenta-
tion of landscapes, losses of biodiversity, and income
reduction.
The responsibility in view of this unfavorable reality
is attributed, mainly, to cattle rearing. However, this
production can be developed following a management
favoring the incorporation of trees and shrubs in the
different modalities of the silvopastoral systems, as
an indispensable practice for animal production in the
tropics. Different authors noted that, in this region,
the use of these systems is a viable option to animal
production (Alonso 2004, Palma 2005 and Casasola
et al. 2009).
This review discusses some of the potentialities of
the development of technologies implying improvements
in the agroecosystems and, at the same time, generating
environmental services, through the use and adaptation
of agricultural practices that include trees and shrubs as
indispensable elements in animal production, because
they are capable of increasing the production and quality
of pastures; besides diminishing the releases of gases
with green house effect. Also, they take part in the in-
crease of the flora and fauna biodiversity, favoring the
fresh water sources and enhancing the physicochemical
and biological characteristics of the soils.

SILVOPASTORAL SYSTEMS
Silvopastoral systems constitute a modality of the
agroforestal. In them, trees and pastures grow together,
being exploited for animal production. The objective
of these systems is to increase the productivity in a
sustainable form, besides reaching other benefits (Mijail
et al. 2005).
Silvopastoral systems are also an alternative to revert
the processes of degradation in the grasslands (Nair et
al. 2009), by increasing the physical protection of the
soil and contributing to the recovery of fertility with the
45th Anniversary
108
inclusion of legumes that fix nitrogen to the soil and of
trees with taproots that use the deep ground layers and
recycle nutrients.
Ruiz et al. (2003) described the silvopasture as a bi-
ological-abiological system under dynamic and constant
development. Its evolution comprises different stages,
and it is known by the evaluation of its components,
including the soil itself in its structure and composition,
the animals, the trees, the fundamental grass pasture,
SILVOPASTORAL SYSTEMS AND THE ORIGINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
It can not be expected that a productive activity,
historically performed with extracting purposes such
as pasture monocultures, can provide environmental
benefits comparable to the biodiversity of the natural
ecosystems in the tropics. Nevertheless, as production
system, cattle rearing could have greater potentials to
make contributions to the management of nature, com-
pared with other systems.
In Latin America, there are production systems
that prove the importance of having tropical cattle
systems compatible with the concepts of sustain-
able development (Ibrahim et al. 2006), that can
be friendly with the management of the biological
diversity. The benefits provided by the agroforestal
practices can be spatial and temporary (table 1). The
Table 1. Space scale of several environmental services generated by agroforestal systems (adapted from Shibu
2009)
Environmental service
Net primary production
Control of pests
Polinization/seed spread
Soil improvement
Soil stabilization /control of erosion
Water quality
Drainage improvement
Air purification
Carbon catch
Biodiversity
Landscape/cultural
INCREMENT IN THE PRODUCTION AND QUALITY OF THE PASTURES
In silvopastoral systems, the total biomass production
is usually higher than in monocultures. However, the
interactions between the components of these systems
during the exploitation time can determine the produc-
tive capacity. It varied according to the modality of the
silvopastoral system.
Giraldo and Vélez (1993) noted that the biomass
production in these systems will depend, among other
factors, on the species selected, the density of the tree
component, the space distribution and the manage-
Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011.
the flora, the air fauna and that of the soil, the recycling
of nutrients, the animal production and its derivatives,
the abiotic and the anthropic factors, among others of
socio-economic character.
In silvopastoral systems, trees or shrubs, pastures and
animals grow congruously in interaction with the soil.
They are, from the productive, ecological, economical,
and social standpoint, one of the most promising modali-
ties of the agroforestal systems.
global scope of some of them, such as carbon catch
and biodiversity, proves the imperious need for intro-
ducing agro-forestry as fundamental tool in animal
production in the tropics, following the implantation
and generalization of technologies adaptable to the
climatic change.
At present, in the world, there are research centers,
governments, and financial entities having as priority the
evaluation and assessment of silvopastoral alternatives
in the tropics. Out of this standpoint, they develop the
following environmental services: increment in the pro-
duction and quality of pastures, restoration of degraded
soils, improvement of water resources, catch of carbon
and gases with greenhouse effect, and biodiversity con-
servation (table 1).
Farmer/local Landscape/regional Global
ment.
A series of researches (Primavesi and Primavesi
2006) on the biomass production in systems with trees
indicated that the level of competition is an important
element in the management of grasslands, if stability in
the plant components is intended. This is reflected in the
botanical composition and in other biological expres-
sions, such as the growth and the yield.
This fact is repeated when evaluating silvopastoral
systems with the use of different tree species and a grass

Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011.
monoculture system. In these conditions, Devendra and
Ibrahim (2004) reported that the tree systems tend to be
different from those with non-associated pasture, having
more stable yields in the associated pasture.
The botanical composition, as in other systems, is an
indicator affecting the productivity of the silvopastoral
systems. Its evolution in time can be related to some
principles of exploitation of the system, such as the ad-
equate selection of the species, the control of the shade
through pruning and the management of the stocking
rate, according to the system availability. The applica-
tion of these elements, in most of the instances, brings
about higher persistence, stability, and productivity of
the mixed grass in the system.
Another element affecting the biomass production is
related to the density and the tree species with which the
silvopastoral system is exploited. Molina et al. (2001),
when comparing densities of Leucaena leucocephala,
of 0, 6 000, and 10 000 plants ha-1, found that the best
yields were obtained with the highest density. In this
case, there was a production of Panicum maximum cv
Mombaza mixed with leucaena of 37.2 t DM ha-1 year-1,
exceeding in 30 % that of Cynodon plectostachyus,
associated with leucaena and prosopis.
In works of Acciaresi et al. (1994) for assessing
different tree densities (625, 416, 312, 250 and 0 trees
ha-1) it was reported that, in forage production, the light
penetration decreases when increasing the density of
trees. Thus, the forage production was lower in the
treatment with larger amount of trees. These authors
concluded that the quality and amount of sun radiation
was, seemingly, the fundamental limiting factor in the
growth of the pasture.
In the silvopastoral systems, the effect of the shade
and of the association with tree legumes showed variable
results in the literature, in respect to the forage quality.
Samarakoon et al. (1990) noted that the shade causes
little increase in the digestibility percentages of several
grass species; Castro et al. (1999) noted that they reduce
them, and Norton et al. (1991) reported that there is not
impairment.
Researches of Alonso et al. (2005), in the Institute of
Animal Science (ICA) in Cuba, showed that during the
RESTORATION OF DEGRADED SOILS
In Central America, high percentage of the pasture
lands (> 35%) is in advanced deterioration status. In
these circumstances, trees of multiple uses can play an
important function in the ecological restoration of these
lands and, at the same time, they may contribute to the
economic sustainability of the cattle production systems
(Szott et al. 2000).
Studies conducted in Panama, on acid soils
(pH = 4.6), showed that the mixture of Acacia mangium
in pastures with Brachiaria humidicola, contributed to
the improvement of the grass forage quality and to the
45th Anniversary
109
evolution of the silvopastoral system leucaena-Guinea
grass there was marked effect on the DM percentage of
the grass in all the sowing years, regardless the seasonal
performance of this indicator in tropical grasses (Her-
rera 2003).
As the exploitation time of the silvopastoral system
advanced, the DM percentage of the grass stratum was
lower (P < 0.001) and reflected seasonal stability, in
both climatic seasons, with higher exploitation time of
the system. The decline in the DM percentage during
the evolution of the system may reflect increase in the
vegetative period, and of late maturation of the pasture
under shade (Carvalho et al. 2001).
These results evidenced the goodness of the mixture
of species of non-native grasses with leguminous trees in
silvopastoral systems and proved that in the silvopasture
leucaena-Guinea grass the CP percentage in the grass is
increased with the exploitation time of the system. The
use of the atmosphere nitrogen biological fixation through
the tree, and the contribution of both components to the
leaf litter, are some of the causes of this increment, which
could be obtained in other mixtures. Castro et al. (1999)
reported that the shade effect increases the N concentration
and, thus, the CP contents of the pasture.
Mahecha et al. (1999) stated that the crude protein
content of the grass (C. plectostachyus) in monoculture
is quite lower than that found when mixing leucaena or
Carob tree (Albizia lebbeck). These authors noted that
the mixed grass reached similar protein as when fertil-
izing with 400 kg of N ha-1 year-1.
Besides, it has been reported that crude fiber de-
creases in Guinea grass when mixed with trees during the
dry season (Fassbender 1993), and it is directly related
to the shade effect.
Several studies of these systems showed improve-
ments in the soil fertility, efficient nutrient recycling, and
increment in the biomass production of the fundamental
and total grass pasture, with the consequent improve-
ment of the nutritional quality of the mixed pasture
(Crespo 2008). However, the evolutional effect of the
silvopasture on the bromatological composition of the
fundamental grass pasture is an aspect that has been little
studied (Alonso 2004).
rise in the content of phosphorus and nitrogen of the soil,
when compared with the monoculture of B. humidicola
(Bolívar 1998). During the rainy season, the presence
of the soil fauna, especially worms, was the highest in
soils with 240 trees of A. mangium ha-1.
According to Velasco (1998), a silvopastoral system
of A. mangium managed to increase, significantly, the
organic matter in only five years of grazing. The sym-
biosis of this tree with mycorrhizal fungi may determine
this process. These systems, compared with pure pastures
of grasses, tend to preserve better the organic matter in
45th Anniversary
110
the soils, especially in the acids and in those being poor
in nutrients.
The beneficial interactions that may appear in pres-
ence of leguminous trees and shrubs in the grazing sys-
tems are also translated into the rise of nutrient recycling
by return to the soil of leaves, fruits, branches, feces,
and urines, derived mainly by the increment of the soil
biological activity. Alonso (2004) reported that the soil
macrofauna, in a silvopastoral system leucaena-Guinea
grass, was stabilized in time with predominance of an-
nelids that favored the soil aeration and accelerated the
leaf litter decomposition.
According to Lok (2006), trees in silvopastoral sys-
tems fulfill ecological functions of soil protection dimin-
ish the direct effects of the sun, the water, and the wind.
IMPROVEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
Among the beneficial results of the tree systems (Ríos
et al. 2007) there is the improvement of the small water
ponds, facilitating water leakage and fill of the water
resources. Nevertheless, the environmental water supply
is the least studied in cattle rearing (Beer et al. 2003).
Studies of Nepstad et al. (2002) reported that dur-
ing a severe dry season in Brazil, water availability, at
2-8 m depth, diminished from 380 mm in the forest up to
310 mm in the degraded pasture. The decline in the water
availability in the degraded pasture soil meant that the
ecosystem stored less rainfall compared with the for-
est, and there was lower leakage to the water supplies
or sun-superficial water flow to the streams in the rainy
season. At the end of the dry season, the forest can store,
additionally, 770 mm of water in the first 8 m of the soil,
compared with the 400 mm in the pasture. This means
that, in the landscape with pasture dominance, the water
shortage cab become a critical aspect, especially in the
arid or semiarid regions.
Cattle farms with silvopastoral systems of trees
spread in the pastures, forage banks, and live fences,
CARBON AND GREENHOUSE EFFECT GASES SEQUESTRATION
The environmental service of carbon capture from
anthropic activities has been one of the most interesting
subjects in recent years, according to the advances in the
Kyoto convention. Although most of the discusions and
scientific papers are addressed to the function of forests
and tree cultures, Guimarães et al. (2010) highlighted
the function played by the systems with mixtures of
crop-cattle-trees in the creation of this environmental
service and its advantages in native prairies.
The high rate of deforestation that characterizes the
agricultural systems in the tropics has not only local
effects, such as the soil degradation and the loss of its
productivity, but also contributes to the fourth part of the
releases of CO2 and other gases to the atmosphere. This
process causes climatic changes favoring the loss of the
Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011.
Also, they can modify their structure (by the addition of
leaf litter, roots, and stems) and increase the contents of
organic matter, the capacity of cationic exchange and the
availability of N, P, and K (Betancourt et al. 2005).
Other studies reported better use of soil nutrients
and higher pasture availability, when these systems
are mixed with tree species, due to the enhancement
of the soil fertility and to the shade conditions created
(Hernández et al. 2006).
The effect of the trees on the soil fertility should not
only be expected in the upper, but also in the deeper lay-
ers, as the time of exploitation of the system increases.
Carvalho et al. (2003) reported this phenomenon, when
studying a silvopasture of Acacia mangium and Bra-
chiaria decumbens.
contribute to decrease the effect of the water con-
tamination (Auquilla 2005), increase the capacity
of water retention in the prairies, help to the leakage
and protect the soil, the water springs and streams.
Thus, planning in cattle farms, protecting the available
resources, may contribute to regulate and preserve the
water resources through the tree sowing, the imple-
ment of silvopastoral systems and the practices of
soil conservation.
Other studies of the GEF-Silvopastoral project in
Esparza, Costa Rica, proved that the leakage was sig-
nificantly higher in the degraded pastures (42 %), com-
pared with the forage banks with perennial woody plants
(3 %), young secondary forests (6 %) and pastures with
high tree density (12 %). This implies that the uses of
the land with large tree coverage, in the conditions of the
study, are beneficial for retaining water. Cárdenas et al.
(2007) noted that the sowing of riparian forests in cattle
farms, as well as the protection of the water sources for
cattle, lead to the improvement of the water biological
and chemical conditions.
biodiversity in the natural forests and the unbalance of
other land ecosystems.
It is logical to state the hypothesis that the silvopas-
toral systems, by combining improved grasses and strata
of deeper roots, may have higher carbon capture rates
(Ramírez 1997). This leads to develop financial mecha-
nisms to multiply the environmental benefits of cattle
production with trees.
The silvopastoral systems are very important in the
carbon sequestration in the soils and in the woody bio-
mass (Beer et al. 2003). Accoring to Nair et al. (2099),
these systems provide two main benefits to preserve
the carbon: they contribute to the direct storage of C,
at short and middle term (decades up to centuries) in
the trees and the soil, and reduce indirectly the release

Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011.
of greenhouse effect gases, caused by the deforestation
and the migratory agriculture. The amount of C fixed in
these systems can be affected by the type of grass and
tree species, the density and the space distribution of the
woody trees and by the shade tolerance of the herbaceous
species (Shibu 2009).
The well-managed silvopastoral systems can enhance
the productivity and, at the same time, sequestrate car-
bon (Andrade et al. 2001), besides being of economic
benefit to farmers. Total carbon in silvopastoral systems
varied between 68 and 204 t ha-1. A great part is stored
in the soil, whereas the annual increases varied between
1.8 and 5.2 t ha-1. Measures of carbon reservoirs in the
subhumid tropical landscapes of Central America have
proved that the total carbon, stored (above and below the
soil) in secondary forests and in silvopastoral systems,
was higher than in the degraded pastures (table 2).
Methane is another gas considered among those
contributing most to the greenhouse effect, because
Table 2: Storage and carbon fixation in pastures and silvopastoral systems exploited in different regions of Central America
(Adapted from Muhammad et al. 2006)
C in the soil
Sistema (age in years)
(t ha-1)
Humid lowlands
Panicum maximum 233.0±8
P. maximum-Cordia alliodora (≤3) 177.0±8
P. maximum-Cordia alliodora (3-7) 196.0±21
P. maximum-Cordia alliodora (≥7) 175.0±23
Humid lowlands, Atlantic area
Brachiaria brizantha-Acacia mangium 87.0±18
B. brizantha-Eucalyptus deglupta 87.0±1
Bachiaria. brizantha 66.0±16
Highlands, volcanic mountains
Pennisetum clandestinum 185.0±32
P. clandestinum-Alnus acuminata 187.0±46
P. clandestinum-Alnus acuminata 196.0±25
BIODIVERSITY PRESERVATION
At present, there is no abundant information about
the importance of the silvopastoral systems in the bio-
diversity conservation. The preservation of the forests
in pastures threatens the survival of many species.
However, the effect on the biodiversity of the forests
could be lower, if farmers keep forest species or forest
stands in pastures, because they serve as seed producers
and providers of habitat and feed to animals (Kabir and
Webb 2009).
The management and the environmental conditions
of the silvopastoral systems exert a marked influence on
the activity and diversity of the soil organisms. In these
systems, it is of great importance the feed availability,
the variability in the composition, in terms of flower
45th Anniversary
111
its action on global harm is 23 times higher than that
produced by carbon dioxide. Methane production (CH4)
is the inevitable consequence of the fermentation of
carbohydrates in the rumen (Agarwal et al. 2008). It is
favored when animals are fed poor quality forage, typi-
cal of tropical areas. The interest in the methanogenesis
has been increased in recent years, not only due to the
economic losses, such as the energy lost in the feeds,
but also because the CH4 is a contaminant gas (Wood
et al. 2009).
The introduction of trees and shrubs as rumen
fermentation modifiers, with the aim of reducing the
methanogenesis, is a new and attractive approach. Plants
having anti-protozoa and anti-methanogenic property
compounds have been identified. Saponins and tannins
in many of them decrease the methane production,
reduce the counts of protozoa in the rumen and change
the fermentation patterns (Galindo 2004 and Wei Lian
et al. 2005).
C above the soil Total C Fixation of C
level, (t ha-1) (t ha-1) (t ha-1year-1)
233.0
2.3 179.0
8.8 205.0
26.8 202.0
8.9±0.03 96.0 2.2
7.48±0.26 95.0 1.8
2.04±0.16 68.0
185.0
1.1±0.6 188.0
4.2±1.7 200.0
richness, and the rest of the edaphic and cultural fac-
tors. This proves that in the environments with higher
biological complexity there can be conditions favoring
the improvement of the soil characteristics, as a result
from the activity of the organisms in it.
Several authors have reported similar trends. Sade-
ghian et al. (1999) found higher biological activity in
soils of a secondary forest, compared with crops nearby
sugarcane plantations. Sugarcane had lower values,
when subject to burning before the harvest.
The introduction of trees in pastures can create favor-
able conditions through the supply of organic matter,
the recycling of nutrients, the improvement of humidity
content in the soil and the temperature decline (Wilson
45th Anniversary
112
1996). However, this depends, among other aspects, on
the density, height, architecture and phenology of the
tree species.
Some silvopastoral modalities, such as those of the
borders, the windbreaks, the live fences, or other forest
plantations, in line throughout the borders of the pas-
tures, are systems designed by men, and many times
modified by nature. The connection of these systems in
form of corridor affects the movement of the animals
and the spread of the plants (Casasola et al. 2009). Thus,
they may have functions of important bio-corridors in
agricultural areas, characterized by fragmented ecosys-
tems that increase the biodiversity.
Styudies of Alonso et al. (2007) proved a significant
increase in the richness of this species, and in the index
of biological diversity of Shannon, as a silvopastoral
systema leucaena-Guinea grass was developed, as well
as in the soil macrofauna, the birds, and the insects of
the system.
This outcome was related to the difference in the
silvopastoral systems in the number of plant strata and
with presence of a middle stratum of leucaena shrubs,
that together with the exploitation time of the system,
propitiated rise in the total productivity of the system,
the plant diversity and, thus, in the number of mixed
species. Nevertheless, the silvopastoral systems with
THE PAYMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES AS INCENTIVE TO THE USE OF TREES AND
SHRUBS IN CATTLE REARING
In order to revert pasture degradation processes and
improve the productive, agroecological and socio-eco-
nomic conditions of the different forms of cattle produc-
tion in Cuba, the innovation and transfer of silvopastoral
technologies were conducted in this sector, thanks to the
goodness of these systems to improve the productivity of
the farms and the generation of environmental services.
However, the lack of financing for the establishment
of these technologies, among other factors, is a barrier
limiting the presence of trees and shrubs in our cattle
rearing conditions.
It is known that the programs of payment of envi-
ronmental services in cattle systems are designed as a
means to stop or avoid the degradation of lands devoted
to this activity (Sepúlveda and Ibrahim 2009). Besides,
in the farms they can be a new source of incomes, out
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
The integration of different components in an
intensive agricultural agroecosystem (Silvopastoral
systems) is presented as a sustainable alternative, due
to the use of the interactions between agricultural,
cattle and tree components; besides promoting better
use of the soil, reducing the use of external inputs
through the efficient utilization of organic products
and propitiating the continuous recycling of nutrients,
Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011.
disperse trees seem to be limited in fulfilling this goal,
due to the free grazing of animals removes regularly the
natural regeneration, especially in plants depending on
the action of the wind for their spread.
In the Monteverde region, Costa Rica, 25 % out of the
400 estimated species had their adequate habitat in the
windbreaks, located in pastures of Cynodon nlemfuensis,
used for milk production. Birds (89 different species)
used windbreaks as habitat and were the most important
vectors for the spread of the seeds of these species, espe-
cially when the windbreak was connected to the forest.
These silvopastoral systems are a considerable potential
support potential for the preservation of forest species
within this agricultural landscape (Harvey 2003).
It can be considered that silvopastoral systems can
play an important function in the successful implemen-
tation in the Mesoamerican biological corridor, due to
pastures cover larger area in this region. However, the
available data about their contribution to the preservation
of the biodiversity are scarce. They refer, mainly, about
the regeneration of forest species and to the fauna move-
ment. It is expected that corridors provide pathways,
sources and shelter to native and non-native fauna spe-
cies (Lang et al. 2003). The inventory of the plant and
fauna species in the different corridors from a landscape
is essential for the successful design and management.
of change sin the use of the land, due to the increase in
the productivity in the cattle production system. This is
merely a technical reason.
Among the environmental services involved the most
in the payment programs developed in some Central
American countries there is the capture of carbon, the
soil restoration and the conservation of the biodiver-
sity.
The outcomes of the project “Silvopastoral ap-
proaches integrated for the ecosystem management”,
implemented by CATIE, CIPAV and the Institute of
Research and Development Nitlapan, in the Central
American University of Nicaragua, prove that the pay-
ment of environmental services provoked important
changes in the silvopastoral systems, at the expense of
the reduction of the degraded pastures.
as basis for searching the competitiveness of the re-
sulting products.
The payment of incentives due to environmental
services could change the perspective toward the use and
management of tree species in cattle systems, because
of their effect on the conservation of the agroecosys-
tems. A cattle strategy based, only, on the production
increment, without any worry about the preservation or

Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, Volume 45, Number 2, 2011.
increment of the natural resources, could face serious
sustainability problems at middle term, and thus a more
marked dependence on external inputs. The systems of
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