Integrated landscape approaches have been identified as key to addressing competing social, ecological, economic, and political contexts and needs in landscapes as a means to improve and preserve agrobiodiversity. Despite the consistent calls to integrate traditional and local knowledge and a range of stakeholders in the process of developing integrated landscape approaches, there continues to be a disconnect between international agreements, national policies, and local grassroots initiatives. This case study explores an approach to address such challenges through true transdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder research and outreach to develop solutions for integrated landscapes that value and include the experience and knowledge of local communities and farmers. Working collaboratively with small-scale agroforestry farmers in Southern Brazil who continue to use traditional agroecological practices to produce erva-mate (Ilex paraguariensis), our transdisciplinary team is working to collect oral histories, document local ecological knowledge, and support farmer-led initiatives to address a range of issues, including profitability, productivity, and legal restrictions on forest use. By leveraging the knowledge across our network, we are developing and testing models to optimize and scale-out agroforestry and silvopastoral systems based on our partners’ traditional practices, while also supporting the implementation of approaches that expand forest cover, increase biodiversity, protect and improve ecosystem services, and diversify the agricultural landscape. In so doing, we are developing a strong evidence base that can begin to challenge current environmental policies and commonly held misconceptions that threaten the continuation of traditional agroforestry practices, while also offering locally adapted and realistic models that can be used to diversify the agricultural landscape in Southern Brazil.

Caívas are traditional silvopastoral systems that occur in the Araucaria Forest biome, Southern Brazil, in which animal production and erva-mate extraction are integrated. Participatory research was conducted in caívas in the Northern Plateau, Santa Catarina State, to identify strategies to intensify pasture use and increase animal productivity. To better understand the outcomes of these strategies, a sustainability assessment was conducted in properties that participated in the research (improved caívas; IC) and those that did not (traditional caívas; TC). The Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA) tool 2.0.0 for smallholders was chosen as it evaluates the productive unit as a whole using environmental, social, economic, and governance indicators and is tailored for small-scale production. All evaluated indicators showed higher scores for IC properties in relation to TC. In general, the SAFA analysis showed that when evaluated as productive systems, TCs are a strategic option for rural development, as 65% of their indicators were evaluated as good. With the support of rural outreach and research and the adoption of appropriate technologies, this percentage increased to 86% in ICs. These results confirm that with adequate support caívas can significantly contribute to the development of more sustainable livestock farming in Southern Brazil.

Estrutura e composição florística de cinco áreas de caíva no planalto norte de Santa Catarina

Bactérias do gênero Azospirillum podem fixar nitrogênio (N) atmosférico e promover o crescimento vegetal, contribuindo na nutrição das plantas. Com base nesse pressuposto, objetivou-se com o presente trabalho avaliar o efeito de doses de nitrogênio no desempenho de uma pastagem de Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu na presença ou ausência de inoculação com Azospirillum brasilense. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento em blocos completamente casualizados, em esquema fatorial (2 x 4) e quatro repetições. O primeiro fator correspondeu à presença ou ausência de inoculação de sementes com Azospirillum brasilense, e o segundo a quatro doses de N em cobertura (0; 50;100 e 150 kg ha-1 por ano). O período de avaliação foi de novembro de 2012 a abril de 2013 e de novembro de 2013 a abril de 2014, sendo realizados quatro cortes na pastagem, em cada ano. A inoculação de sementes de U. brizantha cv. Marandu com A. brasilense não alterou a disponibilidade e a composição química da forragem. Não houve influência da interação entre a inoculação das sementes com A. brasilense e doses de N mineral em cobertura sobre a disponibilidade e a composição química da forragem de U. brizantha cv. Marandu em nenhum ano de avaliação. A adubação nitrogenada em cobertura aumentou a produção de forragem de U. brizantha cv. Marandu, somente no primeiro ano de avaliação e não afetou sua composição química nos dois anos de avaliação. O N mineral não afeta a associação entre Azospirillum brasilense e Urochloa brizantha.

The use of Rapid Assessment Protocols can characterise environmental problems such as the degradation of river sources, help understand the socio-environmental scenario of rural communities, and contribute to a more in-depth characterisation of the context and the elaboration of public policies for its solution. This work aims to evaluate the sustainability index (SI) of rural properties using the SAFA tool. Indicators were selected that can contribute to identifying the advantages and limitations of rural properties inserted in a stream micro-basin in Brazil (Barra Grande, Canoinhas, Santa Catarina State). The community generally has a good SI, mainly due to economic resilience and social well- being dimensions, with lowest scores in environmental integrity and good governance. On the other hand, themes that should receive attention to increase the SI of the families are related to the increase of biodiversity in the properties, with an emphasis on forest coverage.