IMPACTO DE CAPRINOS E OVINOS SOBRE A COMUNIDADE DE PLANTAS REGENERANTES NA CAATINGA

Abstract

ABSTRACT- Goats and sheep are medium-sized ruminant herbivores capable of surviving in a variety of environmental conditions and negatively impacting the complete life cycle of native plants in regions where they are introduced. Although they were introduced in the Northeast of Brazil more than four centuries ago, their impacts on the Caatinga plant communities are still poorly understood. Our objective was to quantify the foraging impacts of goats and sheep on the community of regenerating plants in the National Park of Catimbau. The impacts of the animals were measured in 20 permanent plots of 50 x 20 m that represent a gradient of foraging of the animals. In each plot, the number of feces and the length of the animal's tracks were counted, as well as the density and number of species of regenerating woody plants. There was a negative correlation between plant density and the length of trails and number of feces. However, these foraging indicators did not correlate with species richness. The floristic composition also did not vary consistently along the forage gradient, indicating that the plots with little or much impact by goats and sheep may show similar floras. Thus, we suggest that extensive sheep farming in the National Park of Catimbau, contrary to expectations, has a low ecological cost for the current woody flora. Together with historical data and other studies developed in the area, it is likely that the great event of degradation of woody vegetation has already occurred with the introduction of large cattle herds, and that today, goats and sheep maintain the Caatinga in initial stages or degradation and regeneration intermediates. Keywords: Species composition, seedlings, herbivores, livestock, semiarid and grazing.