Pastures with native trees of brazilian savannah in Formosa, Goiás: understanding the motivations

Abstract

The present work deals with silvopastoral systems with native Cerrado trees, a modality that
has not yet been well studied and has the potential to increase animal productivity, diversify
products and provide environmental services and contributions to the conservation of this very
threatened biome. The objective was to know the motivations of cattle ranchers from the Formosa
region-Goiás, to possess these trees in their pastures. We understand that this is an important
first step towards understanding and encouraging this practice within agroecosystems.
Semi-structured interviews were used with 13 ranchers with different size properties that met
the pre-requisites of having non-abandoned pastures with at least 20 trees / ha. Each interviewee
cited more than one motivation and the most cited justification was to favor the animals
with the shadows of the trees. Studies of this nature deserve to be deepened to recognize their
real productive and environmental benefits.