Land degradation in an area of the patagonic steppe in the province of Neuquen

Abstract

Relation among degradation, use and management of land for extensive breeding according to the type of land possession is analyzed in the present paper. The selected area is located to the East of Coloradas, Department Catan Lil in the Province of Neuquén comprising a surface of 9000 ha, part of it being privately owned, and the rest being the government land occupied by livestock breeders. The selected area is justified by the fact that it is one of the poorest and most fragile areas of the province considering its ecosystem potentialities, different forms of property possession -government or private land- and the aborigine communities. In this particular case study, private land and that occupied by livestock breeders is considered. From the analysis, it appears that the dynamics and the landscape respond to forms of management according to the type of land possession.