ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to determine the forage balance and the influence of management factors on the condition of the bofedales in the upper-Andean zone of Ulla Ulla, Bolivia. The bofedales represent a very important resource for the pastoral economy of the altiplano and the high-Andean regions of Bolivia. The increase in demand for water to satisfy the needs of economic and demographic development constitutes a more serious and immediate danger for the development of sustainable use of these ecosystems than does inappropriate grazing. The Ulla Ulla zone is situated in the highmontane puna in the upper-Andean ecological belt. Various techniques from preliminary definitions of units of vegetation, based on satellite images to intensive field sampling of the vegetation, using the point intercept method were employed. The stocking rate was reconstructed from interviews with the farmers. The study sites were selected based on similar ecological conditions but different socioeconomic and management characteristics between sites.
