Table 1 Management practices found in caívas according to 28 family units from communities of the Northern Plateau, Santa Catarina, Brazil
From: Cultural landscapes of the Araucaria Forests in the northern plateau of Santa Catarina, Brazil
Management practice | Description | % family units |
|---|---|---|
Firewood | Pick up firewood from forest floor for personal use. Removing firewood by cutting trees is now illegal but they still depend on firewood so they remove fallen trees or branches from the caiva. | 100 % (28) |
Cattle | Maintain cattle within caiva to clean herbaceous cover and feed on native pastures. Most families have between 5–20 heads of cattle grazing within caivas. The cattle only graze on native pastures during the summer months, in the winter they also supplemented with oats. | 93 % (26) |
Trimming | Removal of herbaceous cover with a scythe. | 93 % (26) |
Pruning/collection of erva-mate | Pruning erva-mate with a machete or scissors, or breaking by hand. | 93 % (26) |
Plant erva-mate | Planting erva-mate (Ilex paraguarienesis) that grows in the shade within areas of caivas. | 79 % (22) |
Mowing | Removal of herbaceous cover with tractor or gas powered weed cutter. | 79 % (22) |
Plant other species | Planting other species, such as Pinus ellioti, Eucalyptus sp., Maytenus spp (espinheira santa), Persea major (pau-de-andrade) and Pincramnia parvifolia (pau-amargo) within areas of caivas or forest. | 54 % (15) |
Pruning | Pruning other species, mainly (Curitiba prismatica), with machete or scissors to reduce size. | 39 % (11) |
Favoring erva-mate | Favoring erva-mate within caiva or forest area in order to increase its growth, making sure the species survives over others. | 36 % (10) |
Favoring other species | Favoring other species within caiva or forest area, such as Maytenus spp. and Araucaria angusfolia, making sure the species survives over other. | 4 % (4) |
Chop firewood | Cut down trees for firewood for personal use. | 4 % (1) |