Abstract

MOTTA-DELGADO, Pablo Andrés; OCANA MARTINEZ, Hernán Eduardo  and  ROJAS-VARGAS, Erika Paola. Indicators associated to pastures sustainability: a review. Cienc. Tecnol. Agropecuaria [online]. 2019, vol.20, n.2, pp.387-430. ISSN 0122-8706.  https://doi.org/10.21930/rcta.vol20num2art:1464.

Pastures are anthropogenic ecosystems that offer lowcost food resources mainly for feeding ruminants, being the base for production and livelihoods in many rural areas worldwide. Pasturebased production is important for the social, environmental and economic implications where sustainability plays a prominent role because it meets both the needs of present and future generations. The aims of this review article were the following: to show the progress and application of the sustainability concept focused on pastures, and to relate indicators for the measurement of pasture sustainability in the tropics. This article describes the sustainability, the indicators for sustainability, the pastures in the humid tropics of the Amazon region, the sustainability applied to pastures, and finally, provides indicators and metrics to evaluate sustaina-bility in pastures. In conclusion, a sustainable pasture must provide benefits to the soil, the plants, and the animals, as well as provide livelihoods to the family that manages the system through appropriate management practices that allow the resilience of the pasture system and the conservation or improvement of natural resources for present and future generations.

Keywords : agroforestry; livelihoods; livestock production; productivity; silvopastoral systems; sustainability.

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