Atriplex halimus (saltbush), Bituminaria Bituminosa variety albomarginata (tedera), Coronilla viminalis (mata moruna), Echium decaisnei (white tajinaste) and Lotus lancerottensis (corazoncillo). These are the scientific names, and the corresponding common name, of the five plant varieties of forage plants that a scientific report, sponsored by the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the Ministry of Environment, has analyzed over the past four years (2008-2011) and whose conclusions state that these forage plants of Lanzarote have a medium-high nutritional value, being "suitable" for livestock feed.
The report, which has been prepared by a team led by Professor Eduardo Chinea Correa, head of the Higher Technical School of Agricultural Engineering of the University of La Laguna (ULL), analyzes the forage potential of these five species, taking as a reference their nutritional value, but also dealing with their resistance to drought, the areas of the island in which their cultivation would be most suitable and even their possible export to other countries, both as a finished product and for in situ cultivation, especially in arid countries.
Protein levels
The document, presented last Friday at the Cabildo of Lanzarote, certifies that "given the chemical-bromatological quality and the productive factors studied in the five species", the qualities of these plants "are suitable for use for livestock".
Thus, among other things, the report specifies that Coronilla viminalis, or mata moruna, has high protein levels, "even higher than those of alfalfa." In contrast, white tajinaste and saltbush have high levels of minerals. Similarly, in the case of edible dry matter (EDM), saltbush, tedera and corazoncillo have high levels, while those of white tajinaste are lower.
Cost savings and landscape protection
The report does not dwell on the analysis of the nutritional values of the five species studied, but also analyzes the productivity of their cultivation by farmers or ranchers of Lanzarote. According to the document, the exploitation of native forage "would be an important boost for the primary sector", and would help to reduce "considerably" the dependence on the import of grains, feed and other fibrous foods or by-products.
Another of the favorable factors of the cultivation of these plants would be their promotion of sustainable agriculture, with the diversification of crops and the recovery of marginal soils. The report also argues that its planting can contribute to the recovery and "landscape perception of the island and", therefore, "to the creation of employment".
This project has been subsidized by the Biodiversity Foundation (Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Environment) and by the Cabildo of Lanzarote, and has been developed by the University of La Laguna in the period 2008-2011 in the Day Center of Zonzamas and in the Experimental Agricultural Farm, having collaborated staff from both centers dependent on the Cabildo. In addition, the School-Workshop of "Sustainable rural and urban landscape. Sustainable Lanzarote" has also participated in the last phase of the project.