1. Inexorable land degradation due to agriculture expansion in South American Pampa
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Anthony Foucher, Marcos Tassano, Pierre-Alexis Chaboche, Guillermo Chalar, Mirel Cabrera, Joan Gonzalez, Pablo Cabral, Anne-Catherine Simon, Mathieu Agelou, Rafael Ramon, Tales Tiecher, Olivier Evrard, Géochimie Des Impacts (GEDI), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette] (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universidad de la República [Montevideo] (UDELAR), Laboratoire Modélisation et Simulation de Systèmes (LM2S), Département Métrologie Instrumentation & Information (DM2I), Laboratoire d'Intégration des Systèmes et des Technologies (LIST (CEA)), Direction de Recherche Technologique (CEA) (DRT (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Direction de Recherche Technologique (CEA) (DRT (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay-Laboratoire d'Intégration des Systèmes et des Technologies (LIST (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université Paris-Saclay, Environmental Fate - Regulatory Science Crop Protection (BASF SA ), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul [Porto Alegre] (UFRGS), Collaboration between France and Uruguay is supported by an applied research project from the Fondo Maria Viñas (FMV_1_2019_1_156244) funded by the National Agency of Research and Innovation (ANII, Uruguay)., and ANR-22-CE93-0001,AVATAR,Révision du cadre de datation des processus géomorphologiques pendant l'Anthropocène(2022)
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Geography, Planning and Development ,Sedimentation rate ,Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law ,tomography ,[SDV.SA.SDS]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Soil study ,X-ray fluorescence core scanner ,Land cover change ,Panoply ,[SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry ,Sediment sources ,DOSEO platform ,[SDU.STU.GM]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geomorphology ,[SDU.STU.HY]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Hydrology ,[SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces, environment ,Nature and Landscape Conservation ,Global and Planetary Change ,Ecology ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Computer Tomography scanner (CT-scan) ,Urban Studies ,Erosion ,radioactivity ,Agriculture expansion ,CT imaging ,[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology ,ionizing radiation ,dating ,Food Science ,210Pb ,Isotope-ratio mass spectrometry - Abstract
Data are available in the Zenodo repository at https://zenodo.org/ record/6630369 and https://zenodo.org/record/6630479; International audience; From 1985 onwards, South America has undergone a major expansion of agriculture at the expense of native vegetation (e.g. native Pampa grassland). As an emblematic crop, the surface area cultivated with soybeans has increased by 1000% between 1990 and 2020 in Uruguay. The environmental consequences of this massive land use conversion on soil degradation remain poorly documented although the agriculture expansion is projected to continue to increase in the coming years in South America. In this study, sediment cores were collected in reservoirs located downstream of two contrasted agricultural catchments draining the Rio Negro River (Uruguay) for reconstructing the sediment dynamics and the sources of erosion associated with this expansion. Results demonstrated the occurrence of two periods of acceleration of sediment delivery since the 1980s. The first period of acceleration was recorded in the mid-1990s and was related to afforestation programs. The second and larger acceleration phase was recorded after 2000 during the soybean crop expansion. This period has been marked by a greater supply of sediment from the native grassland source highlighting the impact of agriculture expansion at the expense of native vegetation. Conservation measures should therefore be urgently taken to preserve biodiversity and soil functions in this region.
- Published
- 2023
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