Riparian Habitats ( Mallines ) of Patagonia

Abstract

Riparian-like habitats of arid Patagonia (Argentina), known locally as mallines, play a key role in providing forage for domestic herbivores and adequate habitat for native wildlife. Because these systems are driven by localized abundant water availability, their forage production can be of an order of magnitude higher than that of the surrounding dryland and, when properly managed, can considerably improve livestock and sheep production. Unfortunately, improper grazing management has caused extensive degradation of soils and vegetation of these habitats in the past. Until recently, very few local studies had addressed questions related to the complexities of ungulate–plant interactions in relation to sustainable management of this critical grazing resource. Fortunately, this trend is changing rapidly and since the early 90s there have been a number of grazing studies with sheep and cattle, investigating animal responses to controlled-grazing management systems. Many of the results of this research have been published locally and are not readily accessible. In this article, the authors review much of this research and provide a synthesis of the current state of knowledge regarding the functioning and grazing management of riparian-like habitats of Patagonia.