ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE ASSOCIATED WITH SILVOPASTORAL PRACTICES IN THE SEMI-ARID CHACO REGION (SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA)

Background and aims: Traditional Ecological Knowledge is part of the cultural heritage of the human groups inhabiting the semi-arid Chaco region. Until now such knowledge has not been studied in its silvopastoral context, an important socio-economic activity in the region. The aim of this work was to analyze current local ecological knowledge in the aforementioned context, and to identify, characterize and value the plant species involved. M&M: The study was carried out in the northeast of Santiago del Estero province (Argentine). There, with prior informed consent, interviews were conducted with 55 people selected through the "snowball" technique. In addition, ethnobotanical walks were carried out in which the ethnographic aspects related to silvopastoral practices were recorded. In turn, ecological environments were characterized, and the social, cultural and productive context was analyzed. The silvopastoral valuation index was constructed to rank hierarchically the species mentioned by the interviewees. Results: Information related to the main characteristics of the social and productive system, the practices that ecological knowledge guided, the plant and animal species involved in this context, management strategies, forms of provision, contributions by environmental units and local valuation of the species are presented. The value of local flora in traditional silvopastoral systems is discussed. Conclusions: The results of this research show the importance of ecological knowledge in the main local socio-productive practice, which can be useful for management strategies of plant diversity conservation.