Agroforestry systems in different forest types of South America: Concepts, state of knowledge and recommendations

SOLER, R; SCHINDLER, S; LENCINAS, MV; PERI, P; MARTÍNEZ PASTUR, G

Conferencia; IUFRO-LE Conference.; 2015

To synthesize the state of knowledge on agroforestry systemsin South America and to compare the research developed by country, we performeda literature review in seven countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,Paraguay and Peru), referring to the components conforming agro-silvopastoralsystems, the component under study, and recommendations. For each country weextracted 25 scientific articles and other information. 166 relevant articleswere obtained from 1983 to the present, a few of which (11%) dealt withlong-term (>5 years), compared with short-term (28%) or punctual studies(61%). The studies were conducted mainly on the wood component (45%), followedby agriculture (32%), social situation (17%) and livestock (7%). This was thecase with all countries except Chile, which had increased focus on agriculturalissues (43%). Our research aimed at productivity issues (41%) but also conservation(30%) and to a lesser extent restoration (17%) or social questions (13%).Finally, 73% included recommendations mostly orientated towards improvingmanagement (52%), but also conservation (25%) and policy (23%). This studydemonstrates the growth of research in agroforestry systems in South America andthe generation of scientifically based recommendations, also the importance offorestry in the region.