INVESTIGADORES
GASPARRI Nestor Ignacio
artículos
Título:
Agriculture expansion and deforestation in seasonally dry forests of north-west Argentina
Autor/es:
GRAU H. RICARDO; GASPARRI N. IGNACIO; AIDE MITCHELL T.
Revista:
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Editorial:
Cambridge University Press
Referencias:
Año: 2005 vol. 32 p. 140 - 148
ISSN:
0376-8929
Resumen:
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In Argentina, deforestation due to agriculture
expansion is threatening the Semi-arid Chaco, one of the largest forested
biomes of South America. This study focuses on
the north-west boundary of the Argentine Semi-arid Chaco, where soybean is the
most important crop. Deforestation was estimated for areas with different
levels of soil and rainfall limitation for agriculture between 1972 and 2001,
with a finer analysis in three periods starting in 1984, which are
characterized by differences in rainfall, soybean price, production cost,
technology-driven yield and national gross domestic product. Between 1972 and
2001, 588 900 ha
(c. 20% of the forests) were deforested. Deforestation has been accelerating,
reaching >28 000 ha
yr−1 after 1997. The initial deforestation was associated with black bean
cultivation following an increase in rainfall during the 1970s. In the 1980s,
high soybean prices stimulated further deforestation. Finally, the introduction
of soybean transgenic cultivars in 1997 reduced plantation costs and stimulated
a further increase in deforestation. The domestic economy had little
association with deforestation. Although deforestation was more intense in the
moister (rainfall >600mmyr−1) areas, more than 300 000 ha have already
been deforested in the drier areas, suggesting that climatic limitations are
being overcome by technological and genetic improvement. Furthermore, more than
300 000 ha
of forest occur in sectors without major soil and rainfall limitations. If
global trends of technology, soybean markets and climate continue, and no
active conservation policies are applied, vast areas of the Chaco
will be deforested in the coming decades.