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Analysis of institutional authors

Martin-Collado, DanielAuthor

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April 2, 2026
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Article

Pastoral Farming Systems in Arid Regions: Typology of Small Ruminant Farms in Southern Tunisia

Publicated to: Animals. 16 (6): 902- - 2026-03-13 16(6), DOI: 10.3390/ani16060902

Authors:

Laroussi, Aicha; Martin-Collado, Daniel; Atoui, Ahlem; Chibani, Roukaya; Ben Salem, Farah; Abdennebi, Mouldi; Doghbri, Lamia; Jaouad, Mohamed; Najari, Sghaier
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Affiliations

Ctr Invest & Tecnol Agroalimentaria Aragon, Avda Montanana 930, Zaragoza 50059, Spain - Author
IRA, Inst Arid Reg, Lab Livestock & Wildlife, Medenine 4119, Tunisia - Author
Univ Gabes, Fac Sci Gabes, Cite Erriadh, Gabes 6072, Tunisia - Author
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Abstract

This study investigates the typology of the pastoral farming systems in the arid region of southern Tunisia, with a particular focus on the governorate of Tataouine. A field survey was conducted among 111 livestock farmers distributed across different agro-ecological zones. The typology of breeding systems was established using a Factor Analysis of Mixed Data (FAMD), which identified eleven dimensions explaining 69.74% of the total data variance. The first three dimensions accounted for 15.91%, 8.79%, and 7.67% of the variability, respectively, and were defined by herd composition, resource availability, and management strategies, including variables such as the number of goats, sheep, and camels, distance to water sources, infrastructure, reproductive practices, and workforce availability. Hierarchical clustering revealed three distinct systems: System 1, regrouping "Small Urban Farmers", defined by small-scale operations relying on family labor, localized feed resources, and market-driven production targeting urban consumers; System 2, representing large livestock, composed of professionalized operations with improved infrastructure, hired labor, and transhumance practices to optimize resource use and productivity; and System 3, for herds with camels, characterized by extensive systems utilizing collective rangelands and camels to adapt to arid conditions and ensure ecological resilience. The results emphasize how ecological constraints, infrastructure, and spatial organization shape the diversity of these systems. This typology provides critical insights into the challenges and potential of livestock farming in arid environments and offers a foundation for designing targeted interventions to support the sustainability of pastoral systems under increasing environmental and economic pressures.
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Keywords

Arid zonesCamelloCamelsLivestockMonitoreo de pastizalesPastoral farming systemsPequeños rumiantesRangeland managementSistemas de pastoreoSmall ruminantsSouthern tunisiaStrategiesTierras de secanoTúnezTypology

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Animals due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2026, it was in position 21/170, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Veterinary Sciences.

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Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2026-04-07:

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 1 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: http://hdl.handle.net/10532/8181
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Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Tunisia.

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Awards linked to the item

The authors sincerely thank Sghaier Najari and the Small Ruminant Research Team of the Livestock and Wildlife Laboratory (IRA Médenine) for their continuous guidance and support. They are also grateful to Farah Ben Salem and Roukaya Chibani from the Regional Institute of Arid Regions, Tataouine, for their valuable assistance during fieldwork. Special thanks are extended to Daniel Martin-Collado, Alberto Bernués, and Alicia Prat-Benhamou (Centro de Investigación y Tecnología Agroalimentaria de Aragón, University of Zaragoza, Spain) for their scientific collaboration. Finally, the authors express their sincere appreciation to all the farmers who generously shared their time and knowledge, making this study possible.
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