It was studied five management systems of native pasture, under grazing, from Rio Grande do Sul State: with biennial burning for more than 100 years, without burning for 32 years with or without mowing, and pasture improvement for 7 and 24 years. The forage accumulation and the senescent material detached from the plant, were evaluated using grazing exclusion cage. The experimental design was a completely randomized with three replications. The systems without burning were more productive and among these the forage accumulation was similar among without burning and without mowing and the improvement treatments with annual accumulation higher than 9,000 kg/ha of green forage dry matter. The litter was higher with treatment without burning and without mowing, lower with burning, and intermediate with other treatments. The alternative management showed to be more productive and more sustainable as compared with burning practices.
burn; litter; native pasture; pasture management; production
