01639naa a2200217 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006010000230007424500780009726000090017552010550018465000160123965000180125565000130127365000090128665300130129570000160130870000180132477300790134217980682013-08-06       2010    bl ---       0--  u    #d  a2041-71281 aABREU, U. G. P. de  aCattle ranching, conservation and transhumance in the brazilian pantanal.  c2010  aBeef cattle production is the main economic activity in the brazilian flood plain called the pantanal, the world´s largest freshwater  wetland. though cattle have been raised on an extensive basis for more than 250 years, the pantanal is considered  the most conserved ecosystem in brazil, still dominated by native vegetation though 95 per cent of the region is made up of private ranches . seasonal flooding leads to cattle movement from low to high grounds, involving huge herds of cattle walking hundreds of kilometers from one farm to another. flooding at different intensities also causes wide variations in native pasture support capacities, leading to animals being sold to farms outside the pantanal for fattening at specific times of the year. cattle marketing is commonly on foot, with herds taking on average 11 days to cover 230 km to their destinations. these activities have economic repercussions on the population of the pantanal , not only affecting sale price of the animals,  but also leading to tourism niches for local farmers.  abeef cattle  aSouth America  awetlands  azebu  aFlooding1 aMcMANUS, C.1 aSANTOS, S. A.  tPastoralism: research policy practice, vol.1gn. 1, p. 99 -114, jan. 2010.