Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

ELBIO BERRETTA
ELBIO BERRETTA
The South American Campos ecosystem 185
Plate 5.2e
Typical grassland scenes on the Campos of Uruguay – Winter sunset over the
Campos on granitic soils in southern Uruguay.
Plate 5.2f
Typical Grassland Scenes on the Campos of Uruguay – Campos in Central Uruguay
with cows grazing on basaltic soils.
a marked decrease in digestibility , which rarely exceeds 60 percent; forage
crude protein levels barely reach basic cattle requirements. This situation is
aggravated in winter by frost. Most of the year there is a “green desert ” – a
great bulk of low quality forage, in a difficult-to-graze pasture structure. The
animals graze in a “sea of forage”, but have low intake. Fire is used in most
cases to stimulate regrowth and improve grassland quality