TY - JOUR AU - Escobar-Pachajoa, Laura Dayana AU - Guatusmal-Gelpud, Carolina AU - Meneses-Buitrago, Diego Hernán AU - Cardona-Iglesias, Juan Leonardo AU - Castro-Rincón, Edwin PY - 2019/09/01 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Evaluation of arboreal and shrub strata in a silvopastoral system in Colombian high Andean tropics: Evaluacion leñosas JF - Agronomía Mesoamericana JA - Agron. Mesoam. VL - 30 IS - 3 SE - Articles DO - 10.15517/am.v30i3.35645 UR - https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/agromeso/article/view/35645 SP - 803-819 AB - <p class="Resumen"><strong><span class="CharOverride-4">Introduction.</span> </strong>Silvopastoral systems are presented as an alternative for the sustainable use of natural resources, so there is a need to identify potential species for their establishment in the high tropics. <span class="CharOverride-4"><strong>Objective.</strong> </span>The objective was to evaluate the initial growth of eight woody species in a silvopastoral design for water source protection. <strong><span class="CharOverride-4">Materials and methods. </span></strong>The study was carried out in the Obonuco research center of Corporacion Colombiana de Investigacion Agropecuaria (Pasto, Colombia) between September 2017 and June 2018. A randomized block design was developed in a factorial arrangement, where tree/bush species differentiated by their growth habit interacted (high stratum: <span class="CharOverride-5">Cedrela montana</span>, <span class="CharOverride-5">Quercus humboldtii</span>, <span class="CharOverride-5">Ficus andicola</span>; middle stratum: <span class="CharOverride-5">Salix babylonica</span>, <span class="CharOverride-5">Alnus acuminata</span>, <span class="CharOverride-5">Smallanthus pyramidalis</span>; lower stratum: <span class="CharOverride-5">Morella pubescens </span>and <span class="CharOverride-5">Sambucus nigra</span>) and altitude (2750, 2770 and 2800 masl) with four repetitions to evaluate morphometric variables and seedling quality.<strong> <span class="CharOverride-4">Results. </span></strong>In the variable height the best behavior was presented in <span class="CharOverride-5">Ficus andicola </span>at 2750 masl with 191.37 cm and <span class="CharOverride-5">Alnus acuminata </span>at 2800 masl with 181.83 cm. In stem diameter <span class="CharOverride-5">Ficus andicola</span> stood out at 2750 masl with 42.98 mm, <span class="CharOverride-5">Smallanthus pyramidalis </span>at 2800 masl with 37.24 mm, and <span class="CharOverride-5">Sambucus nigra</span> at 2800 masl with 8.16 mm. The number of regrowths did not show a significant effect of the interaction, and as seedlings, <span class="CharOverride-5">Quercus humboldtii </span>at 2750 and 2700 masl and <span class="CharOverride-5">Ficus andicola</span> at 2750 masl showed the best quality of individuals; while <span class="CharOverride-5">Cedrela montana</span> showed mortality at the three altitudes evaluated. <span class="CharOverride-4"><strong>Conclusions.</strong> </span>Native species stood out for their adaptibility, reflected in fast and optimal growth and development, which evidences its great potential to be evaluated in silvopastoral systems in an associated way to decide its multiple benefits and potential contribution to the sustainable development of the livestock in the region.</p> ER -