Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis

In this work, we advocate agroforestry as a sustainable agricultural method that leverages biodiversity and ecosystem services, simultaneously tackling the problems of adaptation and mitigation to climate change, and of land restoration for sustainable agriculture across scales. While the rise of in...

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Autores principales: Comolli, Luis, Schegg, Esteban, Infuleski, Cristian, Munaretto, Néstor, Fassola, Hugo Enrique, Von Wallis, Alejandra, Bulfe, Nardia María, González, Paola Analía, Barth, Sara Regina, Gauchat, Maria Elena, Wyss, Victor Fabio
Formato: info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Frontiers Media 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22652
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1424174/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1424174
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author Comolli, Luis
Schegg, Esteban
Infuleski, Cristian
Munaretto, Néstor
Fassola, Hugo Enrique
Von Wallis, Alejandra
Bulfe, Nardia María
González, Paola Analía
Barth, Sara Regina
Gauchat, Maria Elena
Wyss, Victor Fabio
author_browse Barth, Sara Regina
Bulfe, Nardia María
Comolli, Luis
Fassola, Hugo Enrique
Gauchat, Maria Elena
González, Paola Analía
Infuleski, Cristian
Munaretto, Néstor
Schegg, Esteban
Von Wallis, Alejandra
Wyss, Victor Fabio
author_facet Comolli, Luis
Schegg, Esteban
Infuleski, Cristian
Munaretto, Néstor
Fassola, Hugo Enrique
Von Wallis, Alejandra
Bulfe, Nardia María
González, Paola Analía
Barth, Sara Regina
Gauchat, Maria Elena
Wyss, Victor Fabio
author_sort Comolli, Luis
collection INTA Digital
description In this work, we advocate agroforestry as a sustainable agricultural method that leverages biodiversity and ecosystem services, simultaneously tackling the problems of adaptation and mitigation to climate change, and of land restoration for sustainable agriculture across scales. While the rise of industrial agriculture has been instrumental in addressing the food demands of an expanding global population, enhancing food quality, yield, productivity, and efficiency, we must now reckon with the consequences. This advancement, which prioritizes simplification, specialization, and external inputs, has escalated detrimental externalities including deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, pollution, and an increase in greenhouse gases, contributing significantly to global warming and to exacerbated environmental crises. These demand urgent attention. In response, various agricultural methodologies such as organic, biodynamic, ecological, and biological farming have emerged, attempting to propose alternatives. However, these methods have yet to significantly alter the trajectory of mainstream agriculture. For over two decades, we have devoted our efforts to developing and refining a multispecies integrated agroforestry system for the sustainable cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis, “yerba mate,” in the subtropical north-east of Argentina. With “integrated” we mean that the trees are planted within the I. paraguariensis distribution, not between alleys as in “alley cropping” or “hedgrow intercropping.” The experimental work we present here was designed and implemented to enable data comparisons across consociations of multiple species of trees, at a relevant experimental scale. We achieve soil preservation and restoration, productivity comparable to or exceeding monocultures, and a significant increase in resiliency, particularly evidenced during the extreme climate events of spring and summer 2021 and 2022. These results underscore agroforestry’s potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
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institution Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina)
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spelling INTA226522025-06-12T11:15:50Z Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis Comolli, Luis Schegg, Esteban Infuleski, Cristian Munaretto, Néstor Fassola, Hugo Enrique Von Wallis, Alejandra Bulfe, Nardia María González, Paola Analía Barth, Sara Regina Gauchat, Maria Elena Wyss, Victor Fabio Agroforesteria Sostenibilidad Restauración Biodiversidad Adaptación al Cambio Climático Mitigación Agroforestry Sustainability Restoration Biodiversity Climate Change Adaptation Mitigation Ilex paraguariensis In this work, we advocate agroforestry as a sustainable agricultural method that leverages biodiversity and ecosystem services, simultaneously tackling the problems of adaptation and mitigation to climate change, and of land restoration for sustainable agriculture across scales. While the rise of industrial agriculture has been instrumental in addressing the food demands of an expanding global population, enhancing food quality, yield, productivity, and efficiency, we must now reckon with the consequences. This advancement, which prioritizes simplification, specialization, and external inputs, has escalated detrimental externalities including deforestation, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, pollution, and an increase in greenhouse gases, contributing significantly to global warming and to exacerbated environmental crises. These demand urgent attention. In response, various agricultural methodologies such as organic, biodynamic, ecological, and biological farming have emerged, attempting to propose alternatives. However, these methods have yet to significantly alter the trajectory of mainstream agriculture. For over two decades, we have devoted our efforts to developing and refining a multispecies integrated agroforestry system for the sustainable cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis, “yerba mate,” in the subtropical north-east of Argentina. With “integrated” we mean that the trees are planted within the I. paraguariensis distribution, not between alleys as in “alley cropping” or “hedgrow intercropping.” The experimental work we present here was designed and implemented to enable data comparisons across consociations of multiple species of trees, at a relevant experimental scale. We achieve soil preservation and restoration, productivity comparable to or exceeding monocultures, and a significant increase in resiliency, particularly evidenced during the extreme climate events of spring and summer 2021 and 2022. These results underscore agroforestry’s potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation. EEA Montecarlo Fil: Comolli, Luis. Profesinal independiente. El Rocío S.A., Misiones; Argentina Fil: Schegg, Esteban. Instituto Línea Cuchilla (ILC). Departamento de Producción; Argentina Fil: Infuleski, Cristian. Productores Yerba Mate SCL. Departamento de Extensión Agrícola, Misiones; Argentina Fil: Munaretto, Nestor. Provincia de Misiones. Ministerio del Agro y la Producción; Argentina Fil: Fassola, Hugo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: Von Wallis, Alejandra. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: Bulfe, Nardia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: González, Paola. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: Barth, Sara Regina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: Gauchat, María E. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Montecarlo; Argentina Fil: Wyss, Fabio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Misiones; Argentina 2025-06-12T10:52:00Z 2025-06-12T10:52:00Z 2024-08-29 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22652 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1424174/full Comolli LR, Schegg E, Infuleski C, Munareto N, Fassola H, von Wallis A, Bulfe NM, González P, Barth SR, Gauchat ME and Wyss F (2024) Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis. Front. For. Glob. Change 7:14241 2624-893X https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1424174 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Frontiers Media
spellingShingle Agroforesteria
Sostenibilidad
Restauración
Biodiversidad
Adaptación al Cambio Climático
Mitigación
Agroforestry
Sustainability
Restoration
Biodiversity
Climate Change Adaptation
Mitigation
Ilex paraguariensis
Comolli, Luis
Schegg, Esteban
Infuleski, Cristian
Munaretto, Néstor
Fassola, Hugo Enrique
Von Wallis, Alejandra
Bulfe, Nardia María
González, Paola Analía
Barth, Sara Regina
Gauchat, Maria Elena
Wyss, Victor Fabio
Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis
title Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis
title_full Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis
title_fullStr Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis
title_full_unstemmed Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis
title_short Implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of Ilex paraguariensis
title_sort implementing a sustainable integrated agroforestry system for the cultivation of ilex paraguariensis
topic Agroforesteria
Sostenibilidad
Restauración
Biodiversidad
Adaptación al Cambio Climático
Mitigación
Agroforestry
Sustainability
Restoration
Biodiversity
Climate Change Adaptation
Mitigation
Ilex paraguariensis
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/22652
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1424174/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1424174
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