Relaciones entre la cobertura arb?rea en potreros y la Producci?n bovina en fincas ganaderas en el tr?pico seco, Ca?as, Costa Rica

Tesis (M. Sc) -- CATIE, Turrialba (Costa Rica), 2002one farm which had representative tree covers was selected to establish this experiment. Growth rate, species selection and diet quality were evaluated in 12 Brahman heifers with 219 more or less 32 kg live weight on average, during both rainy and dry season. El objetivo principal del trabajo fue determinar el efecto de la cobertura arb?rea en potreros sobre el manejo y la Producci?n animal en fincas ganaderas en Ca?as (Guanacaste). El ?rea de estudio est? localizada en el Pac?fico Norte de Costa Rica, la cual es una zona seca y estacional. Para caracterizar los sistemas de Producci?n animal, evaluar el componente arb?reo y sus relaciones con las caracter?sticas de las fincas se realizaron encuestas estructuradas en 53 fincas escogidas al azar, localizadas en los municipios de Ca?as, Abangares y Las Juntas. Se utilizaron im?genes de sat?lite y mapas catastrados para calcular el porcentaje de cobertura arb?rea en potreros para cada finca. Posteriormente, se seleccion? una finca con diferentes coberturas de ?rboles en potreros para evaluar las relaciones entre coberturas alta (27 por ciento), media (14 por ciento) y baja (7 por ciento) de ?rboles en potrero, con los cambios de peso, la selectividad de especies y la calidad de la dieta en 12 novillas Brahman de 219 m?s menos 32 kg, en pastoreo, durante la ?poca seca (febrero-mayo) y lluviosa (junio-agosto). A research work aimed to evaluate how biophysical and socio-economic factors affect tree cover in pastures in different cattle production systeMON, and the effect of tree cover on animal productivity was conducted in Ca?as (Guanacaste). It study area is located in the North Pacific of Costa Rica which is a seasonally dry area. In order to identify the cattle production systeMON in the area a survey was carried out on 54 randomly selected farMON located in the districts of Ca?as, Abangares and Las Juntas. Satellite images and maps of farm properties in each district were used to estimate the percentage of tree cover in pasturelands on each farm. Following the characterization of farMON an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of contrasting tree cover on feed intake and animal performance of growing cattle. The tree cover studied was: high (27 percent of the area), medium (14 percent) and low (7 percent of the area