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Livestock Management Within a Traditional Agrosilvopastoral System in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil: A Model for Reconciling Livelihoods and Conservation at a Time of Environmental Change

Lima, Isabela Lustz Portela, Alexiades, Miguel, Scariot, Aldicir (2021) Livestock Management Within a Traditional Agrosilvopastoral System in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil: A Model for Reconciling Livelihoods and Conservation at a Time of Environmental Change. Human Ecology, . ISSN 0300-7839. (doi:10.1007/s10745-021-00281-6) (KAR id:91287)

Abstract

We examine the ongoing transformation of the livestock raising component of a complex agrosilvopastoral management sys- tem associated with the Geraizeiro of northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Increasing droughts and regional climate change, associated with large-scale corporate enclosures of upland rangelands and conversion to eucalyptus plantations for indus- trial charcoal production have undermined solta, a customary form of extensive cattle raising and centerpiece of Geraizeiro lifeways. In response, farmers are adapting and transforming another, more intense form of livestock raising associated with managed agroforestry in lower-lying areas, manga. Using a social-ecological systems approach and drawing on extensive interviews and ecological inventories, we consider such changes within the overall integrity of the system, suggesting the need to reconsider the role of the Geraizeiros and their use of cattle and fire as a potentially useful tool in reconciling liveli- hoods and conservation, particularly amidst accelerating social and environmental change and the concomitant threats to the savanna biocultural biome.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1007/s10745-021-00281-6
Uncontrolled keywords: Agroforestry · Cerrado uplands · Fire · Silvopastoral Geraizeiro · Minas Gerais State · Northern Brazil
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Miguel Alexiades
Date Deposited: 03 Nov 2021 09:53 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 18:42 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/91287 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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