The dehesa is both a resilient and a fragile system; its resilience derives from the perseverance of its operators, and its fragility is its susceptibility to unfavourable economic factors that influence its profitability (Siebold, 2009). Livestock grazing is an integral management component of a dehesa and undergirds the conservation function of the system. The livestock component, including cattle, accounts for the largest fraction of revenue from the dehesa. However, the Iberian pig is the most appreciated and highly priced livestock, because of its outstanding quality of cured products when finished on acorns in the dehesa
