Contract Number ERBTS3*CT940314

AN INTEGRATED STUDY OF LAND PROPERTIES, THEIR FLORISTIC INDICATIONS AND APPROPRIATE FARMING SYSTEMS IN AN ACKNOWLEDGED BIODIVERSITY CENTRE IN AMAZONIAN PERU

Objectives

For the people who live in Amazonia it is necessary to use the natural resources of that area but agricultural efforts have always suffered from inadequate knowledge of site properties and unappropriate management practices. The project aims to find the geological background for the existence of soil types with different production potentials in Peruvian Amazonia and to develop a generally applicable model for the assessment of soil production potentials. The final goal behind these activities is to contribute to the search for realistic alternatives to migratory farming in Amazonia.

Activities

Five institutions participate in the project, representing the four countries of Finland, Netherlands, Germany and Peru. The work comprises a network of interactions among fundamental research, applied research and local authorities. The research contains several original approaches which combine geological and biological knowledge to gain a new understanding of the ecological constrains of agricultural production, including :

Expected outcome

The priorities of the STD-3 programme are met by giving the first estimation of the productivity and sustainability of alternative agro-silvicultural systems in different site types in Amazonian Peru. A map of the different environment and site types will be produced and published. Information will be generated concerning the economic value of what is generally considered "waste land", in particular with regard to secondary forests. Also silvo-agro-pastoral management systems will be tested and demonstrated which are economically feasible. An edited book will be published in Spanish to ensure that the results of the project will be effectively distributed and remain available for use in Peru. The results will also be published in 5 to 10 scientific articles in international refereed journals. The project will also strengthen the research facilities in Peru by transferring know-how in environmental mapping to local scientists.