In the Yucatan, the edaphic characteristics which prevent soil mechanization and the climate conditions, in particular the long dry season, have limited the development of efficient technologies to allow for the use of silvopastoral systems. This is despite the fact that the region is considered the origin of many tree legume species, such as Leucaena leucocephala. It has been shown that forage legumes improve the nutritive value of animal diets, increase the biomass availability to the system and fix nitrogen in the soil (NAS, 1979). The low quality of the tropical grass pasture has forced animal producers to incorporate concentrates in their animals' diets. However, this is becoming an uneconomic practice, due to dramatic increase in the costs of the diet ingredients. Also, to be able to increase biomass production, farmers apply N fertilizer, which is becoming more expensive and is a potential hazard to the environment (through leaching into aquifers). 

In the North-Central region of the Yucatan, there is limited knowledge about the introduction and utilization of forage legumes under grazing conditions. Most of the local research that has been undertaken in other systems, such as those based on grass-legumes, could be an attractive option for the rural areas of the Yucatan. The present project is designed to determine the appropriate agricultural management practices to rehabilitate degraded pastures through the introduction of the best suited forage legumes, and to favor the persistence of the association under grazing conditions.