Abstract
In Southern Brazil, forest fragments are commonly used for agroforestry systems (AFS) - called caívas - focused on erva-mate and livestock production. Although the caívas have helped maintain forest cover, there is a general lack of understanding of the effects of this system on species diversity and their potential for ecological restoration. Aiming to contribute to a better understanding of the forest dynamics (trees and regeneration) of these AFS, we present a six-year case study in which we monitored a caíva that has been used for animal husbandry for 70 years. We observe that forest management in the caíva modified the population structure mostly through reductions in the density of a few adult tree species. On the other hand, the potential regeneration shows consistent growth, including several species not found in the adult population. The caíva showed high levels of resilience in terms of regeneration, despite the extractive use of these remnants over several decades. This result demonstrates that the strategies used herein can help to restore forests with a dense and diverse forest cover within caívas. With the correct management of this regeneration potential, it is possible to maintain healthy and diverse forests that are being conserved through use.
Highlights
Due to its economic, ecological, and cultural benefits, agroforestry is an important land use strategy that has been implemented worldwide (FAO, 2016) and may include systems with the presence of grazing animals (PIGNATARO et al, 2016).Over generations, communities have developed Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), enabling them to implement forest management practices that combine sustainability of food resources and healthy forests with various crops, trees, and animal husbandry (MICHON et al, 2007)
Several authors have suggested that the remaining forest fragments found in Southern Brazil continue to exist because traditional systems have protected the forests (REIS et al, 2013, PINOTTI et al, 2018)
Concurrent with the variation in species diversity, the number of trees decreased during the analysis with a much more evident reduction (-34%) in 2013 after which a subtle negative trend was recorded in 2015 (-4%; Table 1)
Summary
Ecological, and cultural benefits, agroforestry is an important land use strategy that has been implemented worldwide (FAO, 2016) and may include systems with the presence of grazing animals (PIGNATARO et al, 2016).Over generations, communities have developed Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), enabling them to implement forest management practices that combine sustainability of food resources and healthy forests with various crops, trees, and animal husbandry (MICHON et al, 2007). The intense degradation of some ecosystems, combined with a resistance to incorporate TEK into environmental policies, have prevented or even prohibited small-scale farmers from managing forests through agroforestry systems (MICHON et al, 2007, LACERDA 2016). In this context, we present a case study to assess the long-term sustainability of one traditional agroforestry system in Southern Brazil – caívas – an agroforestry system based on the production of erva-mate. Several authors have suggested that the remaining forest fragments found in Southern Brazil continue to exist because traditional systems have protected the forests (REIS et al, 2013, PINOTTI et al, 2018)
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