Cultivating the dry forests of South America : diversity of land users and imprints on ecosystem functioning

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dc.contributor.authorBaldi, Germán
dc.contributor.authorHouspanossian, Javier
dc.contributor.authorMurray, Francisco
dc.contributor.authorRosales, Adriel A.
dc.contributor.authorRueda, Carla V.
dc.contributor.authorJobbágy, Esteban G.
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-19T14:40:32Z
dc.date.available2015-10-19T14:40:32Z
dc.date.copyright2014
dc.date.issued2014
dc.descriptionArticle in pressen
dc.description.abstractIn the South American dry forest of the Dry Chaco and Chiquitania, the area under cultivation rose from 10% to 19% over the last 10 years, and little biophysical, economical, or political constrains seem to prevent further expansion. Although typically associated to a homogeneous agribusiness system, agriculture and its expansion in this territory involve a diverse array of land users. Here we (i) identified and mapped the most conspicuous groups of land users based on existing scientific literature and technical reports, and (ii) described their associated landscape pattern and (iii) vegetation functioning based on different remote sensing tools applied to a set of 218 sample points. We recognized 14 groups of land users of local or foreign origin, composed by individuals or corporative organizations, and dedicated either to pasture or crop production, or its combination. These groups displayed a wide variation in the scale of their operations as suggested by a 60-fold difference in paddock sizes. Twelve years of MODISNDVI data showed small and non-significant differences in the magnitude of primary productivity (1.2- fold difference) but strong contrasts in its seasonality and long-term variability, including shifts in the rates of vegetation greening and browning (up to 4-fold differences), growing period length (193 to 278 days y 1), number of cultivation seasons per year (1e1.75), and inter-annual coefficient of variation (up to 0.13). Agriculture under capitalized groups was characterized by very large paddocks, less stable productivity patterns, and more divergent seasonality. Instead, all smallholders showed more stable productivities both seasonally and inter-annually. Deforestation and cultivation in these dry regions does not have a single imprint on landscapes configuration and primary production dynamics, but one that shifts depending on the human and productive context under which they take place.en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationBaldi, G., Houspanossian, J., Murray, F., Rosales, A.A., Rueda, C.V., & Jobbágy, E.G. (2014). Cultivating the dry forests of South America: Diversity of land users and imprints on ecosystem functioning. Journal of Arid Environments, 1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.05.027en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10625/54828
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.subjectARGENTINA--CHIQUITANIAen
dc.subjectAGROINDUSTRYen
dc.subjectAGRIBUSINESSen
dc.subjectDEFORESTATIONen
dc.subjectARGENTINA--CHACOen
dc.subjectSEMIARID ZONEen
dc.subjectLAND USEen
dc.subjectLAND MANAGEMENTen
dc.subjectSMALLHOLDERSen
dc.subjectENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATIONen
dc.subjectAGROECOLOGYen
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITYen
dc.subjectFARMING SYSTEMSen
dc.subjectAGRICULTURAL POLICYen
dc.subjectLAND CONCENTRATIONen
dc.titleCultivating the dry forests of South America : diversity of land users and imprints on ecosystem functioningen
dc.typeJournal Article (peer-reviewed)en
idrc.copyright.holderElsevier Ltd.
idrc.dspace.accessIDRC Onlyen
idrc.noaccessDue to copyright restrictions the full text of this research output is not available in the IDRC Digital Library or by request from the IDRC Library. / Compte tenu des restrictions relatives au droit d'auteur, le texte intégral de cet extrant de recherche n'est pas accessible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI, et il n'est pas possible d'en faire la demande à la Bibliothéque du CRDI.en
idrc.project.componentnumber106601001
idrc.project.number106601
idrc.project.titleFloods, Droughts and Farming on the Plains of Argentina and Paraguay, Pampas and Chaco Regionsen
idrc.recordsserver.bcsnumberIC01-947-26
idrc.rims.adhocgroupIDRC SUPPORTEDen

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