Chinh phục Tây Ban Nha tạo ra biến đổi sâu sắc trong nền văn hóa và môi trường của Andean. Việc giới thiệu của nhà máy mới và các loài động vật và thực hiện các công nghệ mới có một loạt các tác động đến môi trường và các hoạt động sử dụng đất truyền thống (Thomas 1979; Tiểu 1984). Một trong những hậu quả là sự thay đổi trong mô hình chăn thả truyền thống, trong đó có phát triển trong thiên niên kỷ của sự tương tác của các quần thể của con người với môi trường. | 10 Vegetation and Grazing Patterns in Andean Environments A Comparison of Pastoral Systems in Punas and Páramos Marcelo Molinillo and Maximina Monasterio INTRODUCTION The Spanish conquest generated profound transformations in Andean cultures and environments. The introduction of new plant and animal species and the implementation of new technologies had a variety of impacts on the environment and on traditional land use practices Thomas 1979 Little 1984 . One of the consequences was the change in traditional grazing patterns which had developed during the millennia of interactions of human populations with mountain environments. The success of these strategies was based on a thorough knowledge of these environments and of the genetic makeup of domesticated Andean animals resulting from thousands of years of selection Brush 1984 . In the punas of the Central Andes the most important change was the replacement of native llamas and alpacas by animals introduced from Europe mainly ovines and bovines . In some cases the new animals were incorporated into the management systems within the framework of ancient practices and ideologies Merlino and Rabey 1983 Rabey and Merlino 1988 . However in extreme highland areas the lack of adaptation of the introduced livestock to the demanding climatic conditions constituted a barrier for the replacement of domesticated camelids Wheeler 1988 . Even so the Spanish conquest was the starting point of an expansion process of ovines and bovines in the Central Andes that has been linked to profound impacts on the original vegetation and soils and on the community organizations and grazing strategies Flores Ochoa 1988a b . The Spanish conquest also introduced cattle into the páramo of the northern Andes which was unfamiliar with large herds grazing as in the puna region. This process was linked to the introduction of new crops and cereal technologies Monasterio 1980 . However in a few hundred years new grazing patterns were developed .
