Agroforestry
Solutions for Rehabilitating
Abandoned Pasture
Land in the Brazilian
Amazon
Our Agroforestry
Approach
Agroforestry
systems are well
suited to improve
land productivity
and conserve natural
resources in the
Amazon (Fernandes
and Matos, 1995),
but we were unable
to find any published
data on agroforestry
systems for the
rehabilitation of
degraded pasture
land in the Amazon
or anywhere else
in the tropics.
To
rehabilitate the
productivity, C
sequestration, and
biodiversity of
the huge expanses
of low biomass,
abandoned pastures
in the central Amazon
of Brazil, we have
designed and are
testing four agroforestry
multistrata systems.
The systems were
designed on the
basis of an intensive
survey of local
farming communities
and the results
of two decades of
soil/plant research
in the Amazon. A
key goal was to
optimize both biological
productivity and
economic returns,
while minimizing
nutrient losses
through a combination
of biological and
modest chemical
inputs.
The
systems were designed
on the basis of
an intensive farmer
survey and the results
of two decades of
soil/plant research
in the Amazon. A
key specification
of the design was
to optimize both
biological productivity
and economic returns,
while minimizing
nutrient losses
through a combination
of biological and
modest chemical
inputs.
We
identified local
agroforestry systems
and the preferred
food and fruit crops
for home consumption
and sale to local
markets. Local researchers
identified the key
soil and crop production
constraints. As
most local farmers
use mixed, multistrata
agroforestry systems,
we derived the following
design specifications
for the prototype
systems:
Not
all of the above
specifications need
appear in a single
system. A mosaic
of three to five
systems containing
these specifications
in various combinations
is likely to be
both productive
and resilient to
biological, environmental
and economic shocks.
The
Problem | Our
Agroforestry Approach
| Research
Site Characteristics
| Herbaceous and
Woody Species |
Components
& Structure
of AF Systems
| Tree, Crop, Forage
Species Selection
| Inputs and Management
| Farmer-Centered
Research | Researchers
| References
BACK
Page
preparation by Dr.
Erick C.M. Fernandes,
Cornell University.
--ASB Global Coordinator
(1998-1999)--
