The ecological trends in the vegetation of the caldén (Prosopis caldenia Burk.) forest of central Argentina have generally been explained with a model that assumed a unique equilibrium state or "climax." This model does not adequately explain the ecological changes that occur in the understory of the caldén forest. Recently, models that present different stable states of vegetation have been suggested. These vegetation states do not change unless relatively drastic management or climatic actions occur. Observations of vegetation changes, grazing regimes, and other aspects of management permitted the development of a basic scheme to explain changes in the herbaceous layer in the caldén forest, based on the state and transition model. Five stable states and 9 transitions are proposed to account for current herbaceous associations and their origins. This model seems to more accurately explain transitions between the different vegetation states in the area, some of which could not be readily explained by the "climax" model. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.