Abstract

OQUENDO, G et al. Prospecting and collection of forage species in plant formations of the Rafael Freyre municipality, Holguín, Cuba. Pastos y Forrajes [online]. 2013, vol.36, n.2, pp. 159-168. ISSN 0864-0394.

A prospecting mission was conducted in order to identify and collect species of the natural and naturalized forage flora, distributed on a ferromagnesian reddish Brown Fersialitic soil of the Rafael Freyre municipality, Holguín. Three plant formations were taken into consideration: A) non-anthropic thorny brushwood, B) semi-anthropic savannas and C) anthropic savannas, all located on material of serpentinitic origin. Fifty species from 35 genres were collected, 26 from the Poaceae family and 24 from the Fabaceae family. Within Poaceae the genera Dichanthium, Brachiaria, Cynodon and Cenchrus predominated; and in Fabaceae, Desmodium, Centrosema, Teramnus, Albizia, Pithecellobium and Leucaena prevailed. The highest abundance of species in the anthropic and semi-anthropic savanna, with presence of improved accessions, demonstrated that the human intervention was beneficial, particularly where there was lower pasture exploitation (plant formation B). It is demonstrated that a wide germplasm of Poaceae and Fabaceae existed in the prospected plant formations and that the species showed a general or specific adaptability, for the number of collected individuals as well as their repetitiveness. It is recommended to conduct research with varied germplasm of the most recurrent species and particularly, of the introduced ones; as well as with germplasm whose species are akin to the naturalized ones.

Keywords : plant formations; collection; forages.

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