Uso del hábitad por vicu？as (Vicugna vicugna) en un sistema agropastoril en Suripujio, Jujuy

the vicu？a is a wild camelid with a key role in the altiplano ecosystem as well as in the cosmovision of andean communities. in suripujio (jujuy) the local economy is based on herding sheep and llamas, in an area shared with vicu？as, livestock and feral donkeys. the general objective of this work was to analyse the spatial and temporal change in the use of habitat by vicu？as and livestock in relation to the resource availability in the suripujio area, jujuy province, argentina. the forage offer and its seasonal variation were determined by measuring the size, its variation in space, and its cover and composition in each vegetation unit. the results showed that in the rainy season the forage offer increased, especially at the lowest vegetation level both in the vegas and the shrub steppe. the stocking rate surpassed the steppe carrying capacity, and vicu？as and livestock were spatially segregated. the vega was the preferred area for both wild vicu？as and livestock. livestock management revealed some deficiencies which decrease the potential productivity of the ecosystem; still, there are conditions for a potential vicu？a management.