Abstract

BENITEZ DE BERTONI, Bonifacia. COMUNIDADES NATURALES EN EL ESTABLECIMIENTO GANADERO LAS ROSAS, DEPARTAMENTO DE PARAGUARÍ: NATURAL COMMUNITIES IN LAS ROSAS CATTLE RANCH, DEPARTMENT OF PARAGUARÍ. Rep. cient. FACEN [online]. 2012, vol.3, n.1, pp.14-22. ISSN 2222-145X.

Cattle ranches with natural grasslands and forest formations are often observed in Central Paraguay; which can be Gallery Forests, Riparian Forests or Copses that are included in natural fields. The natural formations of the area studied shows characteristics that identify them within the Chaco Ecosystem (Bernardi 1984). The aim of this study is to characterize the different types of natural communities within the Las Rosas Cattle Ranch at the Paraguarí Department, located in the Caañabé River basin. A simple cluster-sampling method was applied for each Gallery Forest, Riparian Forest, and Xeric Shrubland formation with a census for plants shrubs and trees in 3 plots of each formation type. A total of 18 botanical families were identified, resulting in 42 species, being the Fabaceae botanical family the one with the largest number of representatives. Voucher herbarium specimens were placed in the FACEN Herbarium. Higher species richness was observed in the plot 3 of the Gallery Forest, as well as in the plot 3 of the Riparian Forest and the plot 2 of the Xeric Shrubland, being these areas the ones with the lowest cattle use pressure. 25 species with restricted or exclusive distribution for a particular natural community were identified in these natural communities; 5 for the Gallery Forest, 12 in the riparian forest and 8 in the Xeric Shrubland.

Keywords : Characterization; natural communities; Caañabé river; Paraguarí.