Flora diversity in livestock production farms of Matanzas province

Abstract

The objective of this work was to determine and quantify the species that are part of the flora diversity in eight livestock
production or integral farms, linked to the Local Agricultural Innovation Center of Matanzas. For that purpose, a
systematic sampling design was used; the sample size was not lower than 0,5%. In general, there was high diversity for
all farms. In three of the eight monitored farms 30 or more species were found; in other three this number fluctuated
between 19 and 26; while in the other two 13 and 15 species were counted, respectively. This was in correspondence
with the richness values, which were between 2,03 and 5,22. There was numeric superiority of grasses and legumes over
the species from other families, which number oscillated between one and six species (four or less in 75% of the farms).
The highest dispersion values were found in the grasses, higher than 60% and more than 80% for two farms. The
performance of a casuistic analysis, in each farm, is suggested in order to determine the future strategies, including the partial eradication and improvement of the plant cover, or its eradication and total retransformation, variants that will be decided by the farmers supported by advice.