INVESTIGADORES
AIZEN Marcelo Adrian
artículos
Título:
Large-scale monoculture reduces honey yield: The case of soybean expansion in Argentina
Autor/es:
GRECIA STEFANÍA DE GROOT; MARCELO ADRIÁN AIZEN; AGUSTÍN SÁEZ; CAROLINA L MORALES
Revista:
AGRICULTURE, ECOSYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENT
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021
ISSN:
0167-8809
Resumen:
Large-scale changes introduced by industrial agriculture can affect other productive activities such as beekeeping,which heavily depends on floral resources and responsible management of agrochemicals. To assess the long-termeffect of soybean expansion on honey production in Argentina, we evaluated the relationships between the areacultivated with soybean and honey yield and total production by managed honeybee (Apis mellifera) hives between1961 and 2016. Results indicate that the expansion of the area cultivated with soybean since 1996, whichinvolved the replacement of natural habitats with extensive cultivated fields and intensive use of transgenicseeds, agrochemicals and machinery, was associated with a reduction in honey yield of ~60 %. Furthermore,since 1996 honey yield tended to be lower in years in which the area cultivated with soybean was larger. Causalmodelling of this data confirmed a strong negative effect of increasing soybean cultivation on Argentinean honeyproduction via decreasing yield during the period 1996?2016. Although the underlying mechanisms still need tobe disentangled, this work provides support to the hypothesis that the beekeeping crisis in Argentina can relateto soybean expansion. More generally, it provides evidence that industrial agriculture has a negative impact onapiculture.