CEFYBO   02669
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS FARMACOLOGICOS Y BOTANICOS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Monitoring Extreme Hydrological Events to Maintain Agricultural Sustainability in Pampean Flatlands, Argentina
Autor/es:
SCARPATI, O; CAPRIOLO, A
Lugar:
Zurich
Reunión:
Congreso; 1st World Sustain. Forum; 2011
Institución organizadora:
MDPI
Resumen:
OPEN ACCESS For environmental and economic conditions, precipitation can be considered as 18 the most relevant climatic element. Its drought and wet periods are known to change the 19 natural water supply, river discharges, and crop yields, as well as natural vegetation. 20 Argentine agriculture was and surely will drive the national economy and the most 21 important agriculture region is Pampa or pampean flatlands, mainly because it allows the 22 rain - fed crops production. The grain production increased from 23 to 90 million tones 23 during the period 1970 ? 2010 by means of the best available technology application and 24 this growth had two components: a) the soybean which has now a ratio of 6 to 1 with 25 respect to corn and b) the increase of precipitation amounts during the last decades of XX 26 century. There is a need to maintain agricultural sustainability and for that changes in 27 production patterns would be considered. On the other hand, the pampean flatlands 28 experienced a succession of extreme hydrological events related to precipitation. Droughts 29 and floods were a constant, according ancient documents during the Spanish domain, the 30 argentine government and the installation of meteorological stations near 1870. 31 Documented droughts occurred during 1604, 1614, 1620 and 1824 and floods in 1636, 32 1770, 1817, 1857 and 1900 can be mentioned as examples. The climate of the studied 33 region according Thornthwaite classification is Perhumid, Humid and Subhumid from East 34 to West, with fluctuations in their limits answering climate variability. And so, the 35 2 agriculture was influenced. The surface of croplands is greater in the Perhumid and Humid 36 climates regions than in the last one, where livestock is important. Subhumid region had 37 suffered important changes in its land uses and surely, it will be vulnerable in the future. In 38 this paper the three zones are studied using meteorological data, soil water balance and 39 crops data. More recently there were important floods in 1980, 1985, 1993, 2001 and 2002 40 and severe droughts in 1978, 1983, 1989, 1995 and 2008. Extreme hydrological events 41 acted in short periods but the losses reached high importance because precipitation 42 variability acts over the soil water balance, influencing its parameters and the water table 43 depth