Past and on-going projects
Conservation of the Environment and Rural Development with farmers participation for the Mediterranean dryland zone of Chile (CADEPA). 2000 - 2005.
Members: INIA, Chile (leader); JICA (Japan), SAG (Chile), INDAP (Chile), Regional Government of Biobio region (Chile).
Objectives: a) to promote sustainable agriculture, and poverty alleviation through a soil and water conservation program al small-scale watershed in Ninhue County, Region VIII, b) to develop improving techniques for soil water conservation.
Outputs: a) a great proportion of small farmers of the study area applied non-ploughing cultivation, and drainage canals for the prevention of rill erosion, b) there were carried out small -scale tree planting with the project support. In addition, farmers established dikes for the prevention of gully erosion, c) Agricultural conservationist plan were established for two selected model micro-scale watersheds with the involvement of farmers into the preparation of the process. It mainly consists in plans for land use, implementation process and cultivation, and was prepared based on baseline data such flora, soil, slope as well as on a series of discussions and workshops with farmers c) in soil water conservation, there were developed techniques for soil water conservation, like technologies to estimate underground water, water management technique for drip irrigation system, development of no till animal traction seeding machine.
Study of the impact of annual and perennial fixing legumes on the rehabilitation of degraded soils of Mediterranean central Chile. 2000 - 2002.
Members: INIA (Chile), Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (C.N.R.S, France)
Objectives: a) to evaluate the impact at medium term of the introduction of perennial (trees) and annual fixing legumes (pastures) on chemical, physical properties and microbiological activity of the degraded soils of the study area; b) to study the nutrient cycling and to evaluate the contributions from woody and herbaceous nitrogen fixing legumes to the associated crops and pastures agroforestry systems; c) to study the cycle of water and to evaluate the effect of the trees on water availability for the associated crops and pastures.
Outputs: a) introduction and selection of herbaceous and woody species for use in rehabilitation programs of degraded soils; b) quantification of the biological N fixation in herbaceous and woody legumes.
Nutrient cycling and water balance in agroforestry systems with legume trees in mediterranean central Chile. 2000 - 2005.
Members: INIA (Chile), IAEA, Viena Austria, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (C.N.R.S, France), Universidad de Concepción (Chile).
Objectives: a) to evaluate the influence of the fast-growing tree, Tagasaste (Chamaexytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) on N availability for an associated cereal crop; b) to evaluate the combined influence of Tagasaste trees and of an associated legume-rich pasture on N availability for a cereal crop in a field rotation incorporated in an agroforestry system; c) to determine the influence of the presence of Tagasaste and Acacia caven trees, on the availability of water in the overall agroforestry system; d) to determine the sources and origin of the water used by each component of the system (trees, annual pasture, annual crop; d) to establish whether competition or complementarity best describes the interactions among the components.
Outputs: a) alternative agroforestry systems that include annual legumes in rotation with wheat, or legume tree (Tagasaste) with natural or legume pasture in rotation with wheat, that allow improve soil fertility and the yield of the cereal.
Changes in soil organic matter on degraded and rehabilitated ecosystems of Mediterranean Chile and their evaluation by means of the use of models. 2003 - 2006.
Members: Universidad de Concepción (Chile), INIA (Chile).
Over the past 400 years the vegetation of the "secano interior" of Central Chile has been profoundly transformed from highly diversify woodland and shrubland communities to a low-yielding agro-ecosystem dominated by the spiny, stump-sprouting legume tree, Acacia caven, called "espinal", which cover two million ha. We postulate that the "enrichment" of the degraded "espinal" with a selected combination of nitrogen fixing legumes and of other functional groups of plants, particularly trees, along with appropriate rhizobial and mycorrhizal mutualists, could significantly ameliorate physical and bio-chemical conditions in "secano interior" soils, as well as the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics, and water uptake cycling in the farming systems built upon them. The aim of the project is to investigate the functioning of newly rehabilitated agro-ecosystems in comparison with well-preserved and degraded "espinales", as well as nearby native woodland fragments. The approach of this project is multidisciplinary since we will compare the existing status of vegetation and soils in these contrasted settings, and investigate the role of various groups of plants, on carbon, water and nutrient fluxes within the various ecosystems.
The efforts that have been carried out in Chile in the conservation of the natural resources of the Mediterranean climate region are scarce, being the biggest contribution the project CADEPA among INIA, Chile and JICA, Japan. In spite of the important contribution that this project meant, the obtained information and the impact at the users' level continue extremely limited and very punctual in relation to the enormous magnitude of the ecological disaster and to the rural poverty that affects the area. The contribution that is hoped to achieve with the project DESIRE refers to improve the diagnosis from the situation at regional level, to deepen technical aspects of the conservation not covered in previous projects in particular to improve techniques and new production alternatives for soil water conservation. The mayor contribution of DESIRE could be help us to start studies at different scale level from the experimental plot to the watershed with better precision and get quicker results to presents them to the institutions as well to the farmer communities of the Cauquenes County. We need to be able to proposed real and appropriate technological management package to the land users, farmers, administrations and politics.
