The Political ecology and ecosystem services in Yerba Maté (Ilex paraguariensis) agroforestry of the South America Atlantic forest

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dc.contributor.authorBeatty, Branden John
dc.contributor.supervisorGlickman, Barry W.
dc.contributor.supervisorGutberlet, Jutta
dc.date.accessioned2012-04-11T17:53:13Z
dc.date.available2012-04-11T17:53:13Z
dc.date.copyright2011en_US
dc.date.issued2012-04-11
dc.degree.departmentInterdisciplinary Graduate Program
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Biology
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Geography
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science M.Sc.en_US
dc.description.abstractAgroforestry offers a land-use management methodology that may provide solutions to environmental degradation in the tropics. However, practitioners of agroforestry are faced with the dilemma of clearing more forest cover in order to increase crop size and sustain their income. The aim of this study is to understand the agroforester’s dilemma and to measure the value of the agroforestry ecosystem stewardship in yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil.) agroforestry parcels of the South American Atlantic forest eco-region. Biodiversity, carbon sequestration and vegetation cover were measured to be considerably higher in yerba maté (Ilex paraguariensis A. St. Hil.) agroforestry plantations than in neighboring monoculture crops. Agroforestry vegetation cover values were measured to have between 65-89% cover while monocultures had roughly 25% cover. Agroforestry stored carbon values ranged between 154.7-172.7 Mg C ha-1, compared to monoculture plantation values of 81.3 Mg C ha-1. Finally, as measured using the Shannon index, values of species richness ranged from 2.7-3.5 in agroforestry parcels and between 0.9-1.3 in monocultures, and values of evenness ranged between 0.6 and 0.8 in agroforestry parcels, and 0.2 in monocultures. These findings illustrate that yerba maté agroforestry can potentially contribute as a regional climate change mitigation strategy. Valuating and monetizing ecosystem services and engaging smaller farmers with worldwide ecosystem marketplaces offer the potential to expand the dialogue around payments for the valuable ecosystem services that agroforesters are providing. An analysis of market prices available within the ecosystem marketplace for total ecosystem services being conserved on agroforestry parcels amounted to a range in value between $16 – $160 ha-1 yr-1. To address environmental degradation in the Atlantic Forest region, in South America, governments should motivate environmental conservation to support a shift towards sustainable yerba maté production which supports livelihoods of small-scale farmers, economic justice and environmental sustainability.en_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/3869
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectagroforestryen_US
dc.subjectecosystemsen_US
dc.subjectcropsen_US
dc.subjectconservationen_US
dc.titleThe Political ecology and ecosystem services in Yerba Maté (Ilex paraguariensis) agroforestry of the South America Atlantic foresten_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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