IAI-Science-ISP3-077-004:Caracterizacion regional de los recursos forrajeros de las zonas templadas de Argentina mediante imagenes satelitarias

"A proper management of forage resources needs
information on three fundamental characteristics of aboveground net primary
production (ANPP): 1) the average ANPP, 2) the average seasonal variation of
primary production and 3) the interannual variability of primary production. We
present here an analysis of these characteristics for grasslands and shrublands
of temperate Argentina based on the relationship between satellite data and
ANPP developed for grassland ecosystems. ANPP increases gradually from the
Patagonian steppes (less than 0.2 Mg.ha-1.year-1) to the Flooding Pampa and
Mesopotamic grasslands (more than 6 Mg ha-1.year-1). In most of the systems the
average seasonal variation of primary production shows just one peak. The date
and length of the peak varied across the region. The interannual variability of
primary production decreases exponentially with increases in average ANPP,
suggesting that the relative uncertainty to plan forage uses will be high in
the less productive environment. On going research on the use of satellite data
will provide better estimates of ANPP and, eventually, will allow for the
development of ANPP forecast systems".