Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region
Deforestation and forest degradation have escalated in tropical dry forests in recent decades, depleting biodi versity and carbon stocks. This is particularly meaningful for the Argentinean Dry Chaco, a deforestation frontier where silvopastoral systems could expand on more than 18 million hectares...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24914 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380025003874 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111401 |
| _version_ | 1855039030522019840 |
|---|---|
| author | Filip, Iván Daniel Peri, Pablo Luis Fernandez, Pedro David Loto, Dante Kees, Sebastian Miguel Banegas, Natalia Romina Nasca, Jose Andres Sacido, Mónica Faverin, Claudia Vibart, Ronaldo |
| author_browse | Banegas, Natalia Romina Faverin, Claudia Fernandez, Pedro David Filip, Iván Daniel Kees, Sebastian Miguel Loto, Dante Nasca, Jose Andres Peri, Pablo Luis Sacido, Mónica Vibart, Ronaldo |
| author_facet | Filip, Iván Daniel Peri, Pablo Luis Fernandez, Pedro David Loto, Dante Kees, Sebastian Miguel Banegas, Natalia Romina Nasca, Jose Andres Sacido, Mónica Faverin, Claudia Vibart, Ronaldo |
| author_sort | Filip, Iván Daniel |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Deforestation and forest degradation have escalated in tropical dry forests in recent decades, depleting biodi versity and carbon stocks. This is particularly meaningful for the Argentinean Dry Chaco, a deforestation frontier where silvopastoral systems could expand on more than 18 million hectares. Here, we evaluate long term forest and woody carbon dynamics of two silvopastoral systems: Forest management integrated with livestock (herein MBGI) and traditional silvopastoral (TSP), and compared these with undisturbed primary native forests. To do so, we developed a model using systems dynamics methodology, literature review, and expert elicitation, and then parameterized it with over 570 field sampling sites collected across the region. Our results show that in the longterm (i.e., 90 years), forest management integrated with livestock (MBGI) retained 53% more woody carbon than TSP, but 28% less than the undisturbed primary native forest. Moreover, MBGI maintained forest structure over time, with the shrub layer holding 27% of the total carbon stock. In the long term simulation, MBGI showed a positive carbon sequestration rate, whereas TSP showed a negative one. Overall, we provide a robust evaluation of forest population and carbon dynamics for alternative silvopastoral systems in the Dry Chaco region that could be adapted to other tropical dry forests. Our results highlight the medium- to long-term sustainability of semiintensive silvopastoral systems which sustain forest attributes while allowing for the expansion of agricultural production. This is crucial for deforestation frontiers in tropical dry forests, where finding alternatives to deforestation is essential. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA24914 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA249142026-01-07T12:19:35Z Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region Filip, Iván Daniel Peri, Pablo Luis Fernandez, Pedro David Loto, Dante Kees, Sebastian Miguel Banegas, Natalia Romina Nasca, Jose Andres Sacido, Mónica Faverin, Claudia Vibart, Ronaldo Primary Forests Carbon Deforestation Silvopastoral Systems Forest Management Simulation Models Trees Shrubs Bosques Primarios Carbono Deforestación Sistemas Silvopascícolas Ordenación Forestal Modelos de Simulación Árboles Arbustos Chaco Integrated Forest and Livestock Management (MBGI) Systems Dynamics Manejo de bosque con ganadería integrada (MBGI) Dinámica de Sistemas Región Chaco Arido Deforestation and forest degradation have escalated in tropical dry forests in recent decades, depleting biodi versity and carbon stocks. This is particularly meaningful for the Argentinean Dry Chaco, a deforestation frontier where silvopastoral systems could expand on more than 18 million hectares. Here, we evaluate long term forest and woody carbon dynamics of two silvopastoral systems: Forest management integrated with livestock (herein MBGI) and traditional silvopastoral (TSP), and compared these with undisturbed primary native forests. To do so, we developed a model using systems dynamics methodology, literature review, and expert elicitation, and then parameterized it with over 570 field sampling sites collected across the region. Our results show that in the longterm (i.e., 90 years), forest management integrated with livestock (MBGI) retained 53% more woody carbon than TSP, but 28% less than the undisturbed primary native forest. Moreover, MBGI maintained forest structure over time, with the shrub layer holding 27% of the total carbon stock. In the long term simulation, MBGI showed a positive carbon sequestration rate, whereas TSP showed a negative one. Overall, we provide a robust evaluation of forest population and carbon dynamics for alternative silvopastoral systems in the Dry Chaco region that could be adapted to other tropical dry forests. Our results highlight the medium- to long-term sustainability of semiintensive silvopastoral systems which sustain forest attributes while allowing for the expansion of agricultural production. This is crucial for deforestation frontiers in tropical dry forests, where finding alternatives to deforestation is essential. EEA Las Breñas Fil: Filip, Iván Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia de Formosa; Argentina. Fil: Filip, Iván Daniel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Las Breñas; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fil: Fernández, Pedro David. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina Fil: Fernández, Pedro David. Humboldt-University Berlin. Geography Department; Alemania Fil: Loto, Dante. Universidad Nacional de Santiago del Estero. Instituto de Silvicultura y Manejo de Bosques; Argentina. Fil: Loto, Dante. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fil: Kees, Sebastian Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Sáenz Peña. Campo Anexo Estación Forestal Plaza; Argentina. Fil: Banegas, Natalia Romina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Investigación Animal del Chaco Semiárido; Argentina. Fil: Banegas, Natalia Romina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Agronomía y Zootecnia; Argentina. Fil: Nasca, Jose Andres. Independent Researcher. Terratio San Miguel de Tucumán; Argentina. Fil: Sacido, Mónica. Independent Researcher; Argentina. Fil: Faverin, Claudia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce; Argentina. Fil: Faverin, Claudia. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Fil: Vibart, Ronaldo. AgResearch Ltd. Grasslands Research Centre; Nueva Zelanda 2026-01-07T11:55:03Z 2026-01-07T11:55:03Z 2026-02 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24914 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380025003874 Filip I.D.; Peri P.L.; Fernández P.; Loto D.; Kees S.; Banegas N.; Nasca J.; Sacido M.; Faverin C. (2026) Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region. Ecological Modelling 512: e111401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111401 0304-3800 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111401 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 Elsevier Ecological Modelling 512 : e111401 (February 2026) |
| spellingShingle | Primary Forests Carbon Deforestation Silvopastoral Systems Forest Management Simulation Models Trees Shrubs Bosques Primarios Carbono Deforestación Sistemas Silvopascícolas Ordenación Forestal Modelos de Simulación Árboles Arbustos Chaco Integrated Forest and Livestock Management (MBGI) Systems Dynamics Manejo de bosque con ganadería integrada (MBGI) Dinámica de Sistemas Región Chaco Arido Filip, Iván Daniel Peri, Pablo Luis Fernandez, Pedro David Loto, Dante Kees, Sebastian Miguel Banegas, Natalia Romina Nasca, Jose Andres Sacido, Mónica Faverin, Claudia Vibart, Ronaldo Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region |
| title | Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region |
| title_full | Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region |
| title_fullStr | Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region |
| title_short | Modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests: A case study of the Dry Chaco region |
| title_sort | modelling woody carbon dynamics in tropical dry forests a case study of the dry chaco region |
| topic | Primary Forests Carbon Deforestation Silvopastoral Systems Forest Management Simulation Models Trees Shrubs Bosques Primarios Carbono Deforestación Sistemas Silvopascícolas Ordenación Forestal Modelos de Simulación Árboles Arbustos Chaco Integrated Forest and Livestock Management (MBGI) Systems Dynamics Manejo de bosque con ganadería integrada (MBGI) Dinámica de Sistemas Región Chaco Arido |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/24914 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380025003874 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2025.111401 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT filipivandaniel modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT peripabloluis modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT fernandezpedrodavid modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT lotodante modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT keessebastianmiguel modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT banegasnataliaromina modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT nascajoseandres modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT sacidomonica modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT faverinclaudia modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion AT vibartronaldo modellingwoodycarbondynamicsintropicaldryforestsacasestudyofthedrychacoregion |