Sustainability analysis for cattle-farms in the municipality of Circasia (Quindío state, Colombia), La Vieja river watershed

摘要

Asustainabilityanalysiswasdonebyusingtheframeworkassessmentofmanagementsystemsincludingsustainabilityindicators(MESMIS).nbsp;Thesocioeconomicsandbiophysicsattributesaswellasthemainpotentialitiesandproblemsregardingtosustainability,wereelucidatedwithinfivefarmslocatedinthemunicipalityofCircasia,Colombia.Thesizeofthesefarmsvariedbetween8and33hectaresandtheprincipallanduseofthemwaslivestockformilkandmeatproduction.nbsp;Socioeconomicinformationwascollectedthroughsemi-structuredinterviewappliedtofarmersandbiophysicalvariablesweremeasuredinfieldwithintemporalplots.Toassessthesustainabilityoffarms,17indicatorswereused,4ofthemwereeconomic,5socialand8biophysical.Thesocioeconomicandbiophysicalcharacterizationoffarmsandadditionalinformationofpreviousstudieswereusedtodefinethresholdsandreferencesvaluesandthentodevelopsustainabilityindices.Ascalebetween0and5wasestablishedforeachindicator.nbsp;nbsp;Thesustainabilityassessmentpermittedtoestablishindicatorstocharacterizethefarmsevaluated.Therefore,itwaspossibletocomparethefarmsintermsofeconomic,ecologicalandbiophysicaldimensionandtoidentifycriticalaspectsandpotentialitiesoffarms.Thus,itwasdeterminedthefarmwiththebestlevelofsustainability,wherethesocialandeconomicdimensionvaluatedassustainablewhereasthebiophysicaldimensionwaspotentialitysustainable.nbsp;nbsp;Correlationanalyzesshowedsignificantrelationship(P0.05)betweensomeofindicatorsevaluated.Useofacquiredknowledgehadapositiveassociationwithpracticesofsoilconservation.Thediversificationofproductivityshowedafavorableinfluenceonneedsofdaylaborer.Also,theparticipationoffamilytendstobesignificantbiggerwhentherearemoreproductiveactivitiesinfarms.nbsp;