Declining Rio de la Plata Water Quality: Need to Mitigate the Environmental Impact of Deforestation, Cultivation, Invasive Species, Soil Erosion and Sedimentation
Río de la Plata is an estuary of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers and an intrusion of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of South America between Argentina and Uruguay. The Río de la Plata receives waters draining from one-fifth of the surface of the continent or a 3.2 million km2 basin that covers much of south-central South America. Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is on the southwestern shore and Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is located on the northern shore of the estuary. The primary objective is to mitigate the environmental impact of deforestation, cultivation, invasive species, soil erosion, and sedimentation on declining Rio de la Plata water quality. The current trajectory of increased environmental side effects of agricultural intensification in the Rio de la Plata region has increased food production per unit area of land. The decoupling of crop and livestock production systems, which have replaced previously established crop-pasture rotations and native grasslands. Ecological intensification based on multi-functional and diverse agricultural landscapes including integrated crop livestock systems is the way forward. This intensification pathway must be reconsidered.
References
[1]
Muniz, P., Marrero, A., Brugnoli, E., Kandratavicius, N., Rodríguez, M., Bueno, C., et al. (2019) Heavy Metals and as in Surface Sediments of the North Coast of the Río De La Plata Estuary: Spatial Variations in Pollution Status and Adverse Biological Risk. RegionalStudiesinMarineScience, 28, Article ID: 100625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2019.100625
[2]
De Faccio Carvalho, P.C., Savian, J.V., Chiesa, T.D., Souza Filho, W.D., Terra, J.A., Pinto, P., et al. (2021) Land-Use Intensification Trends in the Rio de la Plata Region of South America: Toward Specialization or Recoupling Crop and Livestock Production. FrontiersofAgriculturalScienceandEngineering, 8, 97-110. https://doi.org/10.15302/j-fase-2020380
[3]
Baeza, S. and Paruelo, J.M. (2020) Land Use/Land Cover Change (2000-2014) in the Rio De La Plata Grasslands: An Analysis Based on MODIS NDVI Time Series. RemoteSensing, 12, Article 381. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12030381
[4]
Nabinger, C., Ferreira, E.T., Freitas, A.K., Carvalho, P.C.F., Anna, S. and Menezes, D. (2016) Produção animal com base no campo nativo: Aplicação de resultados de pesquisa. In: Pillar, V.P., Ed., Campos Sulinos-conservação e usosustentável da bio-diversidade, Ministério do Meio Ambiente, 175-198. (In Portuguese)
[5]
Mastrangelo, M.E., Weyland, F., Herrera, L.P., Villarino, S.H., Barral, M.P. and Auer, A.D. (2015) Ecosystem Services Research in Contrasting Socio-Ecological Contexts of Argentina: Critical Assessment and Future Directions. EcosystemServices, 16, 63-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2015.10.001
[6]
Modernel, P., Rossing, W.A.H., Corbeels, M., Dogliotti, S., Picasso, V. and Tittonell, P. (2016) Land Use Change and Ecosystem Service Provision in Pampas and Campos Grasslands of Southern South America. EnvironmentalResearchLetters, 11, Article ID: 113002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/113002
[7]
Hall, A.J., Rebella, C.M., Ghersa, C.M. and Culot, J.P. (1992) Field-Crop Systems of the Pampas. Ecosystems of the World, 18, 413-450.
[8]
Soriano, A., León, R.J.C., Sala, O.E., Lavado, R.S., Deregibus, V.A., Cauhepe, M.A. and Lemcoff, J.H. (1991) Río de la Plata Grasslands. In: Ecosystems of the World. Natural Grasslands: Introduction and Western Hemisphere, RT Coupland, 367-407.
[9]
Villarino, S.H., Studdert, G.A., Laterra, P. and Cendoya, M.G. (2014) Agricultural Impact on Soil Organic Carbon Content: Testing the IPCC Carbon Accounting Method for Evaluations at County Scale. Agriculture, Ecosystems&Environment, 185, 118-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.12.021
[10]
Manuel-Navarrete, D., Gallopín, G.C., Blanco, M., Díaz-Zorita, M., Ferraro, D.O., Herzer, H., et al. (2007) Multi-Causal and Integrated Assessment of Sustainability: The Case of Agriculturization in the Argentine Pampas. Environment, DevelopmentandSustainability, 11, 621-638. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-007-9133-0
[11]
Dirección de Estadísticas, A. (2020) Anuario Estadístico Agropecuario. Oficina de Estadísticas Agropecuarias, Ministerio de Ganadería, Agricultura y Pesca, Uruguay. DIEA. (In Spanish)
[12]
Molfino, J.H. (2013) Potencial Agrícola, algunos cálculos para agricultura en secano. Cangue, 33, 14-18. (In Spanish)
[13]
Sinclair, F., Wezel, A., Mbow, C., Chomba, S., Robiglio, V. and Harrison, R. (2019) The Contribution of Agroecological Approaches to Realizing Climate-Resilient Agriculture. https://www.gca.org
[14]
Gliessman, S. and Ferguson, B.G. (2019) Keeping up with the Agroecology Movement: Priorities for agroecologyandSustainableFoodSystems. AgroecologyandSustainableFoodSystems, 44, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2019.1675241
[15]
Arbeletche, P., Ernst, O. and Hoffman, E. (2011) La Agricultura en Uruguay y su Evolución. II Simposio Nacional de Agricultura, 149-163. (In Spanish)
[16]
Morón, A., Quincke, A., Molfino, J., Ibáñez, W. and García, A. (2012) Soil Quality Assessment of Uruguayan Agricultural Soils. Agrociencia, 16, 135-143. https://doi.org/10.31285/agro.16.656
[17]
García-Préchac, F., Ernst, O., Siri-Prieto, G., Salvo, L., Quincke, A. and Terra, J.A. (2017) Long-Term Effect of Different Agricultural Soil Use and Management Systems on the Organic Carbon Content of Uruguay Prairie Soils. Proceedings of the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon, Rome, 21-23 March 2017, 449-452
[18]
Ernst, O.R., Dogliotti, S., Cadenazzi, M. and Kemanian, A.R. (2018) Shifting Crop-Pasture Rotations to No-Till Annual Cropping Reduces Soil Quality and Wheat Yield. FieldCropsResearch, 217, 180-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2017.11.014
[19]
Beretta-Blanco, A., Pérez, O. and Carrasco-Letelier, L. (2019) Soil Quality Decrease over 13 Years of Agricultural Production. NutrientCyclinginAgroecosystems, 114, 45-55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-019-09990-3
[20]
Pérez-Bidegain, M., Hill, M., Clérici, C., Terra, J., Sawchik, J. and García-Préchac, F. (2018) Regulatory Utilization of USLE/RUSLE Erosion Estimates in Uruguay: A Policy Coincident with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In: Lal, R., Ed., Soil and Sustainable Development Goals, Catena-Schweizerbart, Stuttgart, 82-91
[21]
Wikipedia (2024) Rio de la Plata. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%ADo_de_la_Plata
[22]
Imbellone, P.A., Guichon, B.A. and Gimenez, J.E. (2009) Hydromorphic Soils of the Rio De la Plata Coastal Plain, Argentina. LatinAmericanJournalofSedimentologyandBasinAnalysis, 16, 3-18.
[23]
New World Encyclopedia (2024) Río de la Plata. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rio_de_la_Plata/
[24]
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) (2020) Ecosystem Accounting: Land Use in Brazilian Biomes (2000-2018). The IBGE Website. (In Portuguese)
[25]
Gras, C. (2009) Changing Patterns in Family Farming: The Case of the Pampa Region, Argentina. JournalofAgrarianChange, 9, 345-364. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2009.00215.x
[26]
Fonseca, C.R., Guadagnin, D.L., Emer, C., Masciadri, S., Germain, P. and Zalba, S.M. (2013) Invasive Alien Plants in the Pampas Grasslands: A Tri-National Cooperation Challenge. BiologicalInvasions, 15, 1751-1763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0406-2
[27]
Overbeck, G., Muller, S., Fidelis, A., Pfadenhauer, J., Pillar, V., Blanco, C., et al. (2007) Brazil's Neglected Biome: The South Brazilian Campos. PerspectivesinPlantEcology, EvolutionandSystematics, 9, 101-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2007.07.005
[28]
Gautreau, P. (2014) Forestación, territorio y ambiente. 25 años de silvicultura trans-nacional en Uruguay, Brasil y Argentina. TRILCE.
[29]
Oliveira, T.E.D., Freitas, D.S.D., Gianezini, M., Ruviaro, C.F., Zago, D., Mércio, T.Z., et al. (2017) Agricultural Land Use Change in the Brazilian Pampa Biome: The Reduction of Natural Grasslands. LandUsePolicy, 63, 394-400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.02.010
[30]
Monitoramento do desmatamento nos biomas brasileiros por Satélite (MMA-IBAMA) (2010) Acordo de cooperação técnica MMA/IBAMA. Monito-ramento do bioma. (In Portuguese)
[31]
Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (CONAB) (2020) Acompanhamento da safra brasileira de grãos: Séries históricas. 2020. (In Portuguese)
[32]
Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa) (2016) Integração La-voura-Pecuária-Floresta em números. (In Portuguese)
[33]
Ortega, L.E. and Azcuy Ameghino, A. (2009) Expansión de la frontera agropecuaria, restructuración ganadera y sojización en regiones extrapampeanas. XV Jornadas de Epistemología de las Ciencias Económicas. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Uni-versidad de Buenos Aires. (In Portuguese)
[34]
Pinto, P., Fernández Long, M.E. and Piñeiro, G. (2017) Including Cover Crops during Fallow Periods for Increasing Ecosystem Services: Is It Possible in Croplands of Southern South America? Agriculture, Ecosystems&Environment, 248, 48-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.07.028
[35]
Caviglia, O.P., Sadras, V.O. and Andrade, F.H. (2004) Intensification of Agriculture in the South-Eastern Pampas: I. Capture and Efficiency in the Use of Water and Radiation in Double-Cropped Wheat-Soybean. FieldCropsResearch, 87, 117-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2003.10.002
[36]
Garcia, L., Celette, F., Gary, C., Ripoche, A., Valdés-Gómez, H. and Metay, A. (2018) Management of Service Crops for the Provision of Ecosystem Services in Vineyards: A Review. Agriculture, Ecosystems&Environment, 251, 158-170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2017.09.030
[37]
Alvarez, R., Steinbach, H.S. and De Paepe, J.L. (2017) Cover Crop Effects on Soils and Subsequent Crops in the Pampas: A Meta-Analysis. SoilandTillageResearch, 170, 53-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2017.03.005
[38]
Gaba, S., Lescourret, F., Boudsocq, S., Enjalbert, J., Hinsinger, P., Journet, E., et al. (2014) Multiple Cropping Systems as Drivers for Providing Multiple Ecosystem Services: From Concepts to Design. AgronomyforSustainableDevelopment, 35, 607-623. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-014-0272-z
[39]
Plaza-Bonilla, D., Nolot, J., Passot, S., Raffaillac, D. and Justes, E. (2016) Grain Legume-Based Rotations Managed under Conventional Tillage Need Cover Crops to Mitigate Soil Organic Matter Losses. SoilandTillageResearch, 156, 33-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2015.09.021
[40]
Schipanski, M.E., Barbercheck, M., Douglas, M.R., Finney, D.M., Haider, K., Kaye, J.P., et al. (2014) A Framework for Evaluating Ecosystem Services Provided by Cover Crops in Agroecosystems. AgriculturalSystems, 125, 12-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2013.11.004
[41]
Venturini, N., Bicego, M.C., Taniguchi, S., Sasaki, S.T., Garcia-Rodriguez, F., Brugnoli, E. and Muniz, P. (2015) A Multi-Molecular Marker Assessment of Organic Pollution in Shore Sediments from the Rio de la Plata Estuary, SW Atlantic. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 91, 461-475. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X14004366?via%3Dihub https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.056
[42]
Maciel, F.P., Santoro, P.E. and Pedocchi, F. (2021) Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of the Río de la Plata Turbidity Front; Combining Remote Sensing with In-Situ Measurements and Numerical Modeling. ContinentalShelfResearch, 213, Article ID: 104301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2020.104301
[43]
Fossatia, M., Santoroa, P., Mosqueraa, R., Martíneza, C., Ghiardoa, F., Ezzattib, P., et al. (2014) Dinámica de flujo, del campo salino y de los sedimentos finos en el Río de la Plata. Ribagua, 1, 48-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2386-3781(15)30007-4
[44]
Lohaiza, F., Juri Ayub, J., Valladares, D.L., Velasco, H., Rizzotto, M., de Rosas, J.P., et al. (2024) Assessing Soil Erosion in a Semiarid Ecosystem in Central Argentina Using 137Cs and 7Be Measurements. IsotopesinEnvironmentalandHealthStudies, 60, 191-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/10256016.2024.2305335
[45]
Eckert, J.M. and Sholkovitz, E.R. (1976) The Flocculation of Iron, Aluminium and Humates from River Water by Electrolytes. GeochimicaetCosmochimicaActa, 40, 847-848. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(76)90036-3
[46]
Bueno, C., Brugnoli, E., Figueira, R.C.L., Muniz, P., Ferreira, P.A.L. and García Rodríguez, F. (2016) Historical Economic and Environmental Policies Influencing Trace Metal Inputs in Montevideo Bay, Río de la Plata. MarinePollutionBulletin, 113, 141-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.08.082
[47]
Rezayi, M., Ahmadzadeh, S., Kassim, A. and Heng, L.Y. (2011) Thermodynamic Studies of Complex Formation between Co(salen) Ionophore with Chromate (II) Ions in AN-H2O Binary Solutions by the Conductometric Method. InternationalJournalofElectrochemicalScience, 6, 6350-6359. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1452-3981(23)19685-4
[48]
Acha, E.M., Mianzan, H.W., Iribarne, O., Gagliardini, D.A., Lasta, C. and Daleo, P. (2003) The Role of the Rio de la Plata Bottom Salinity Front in Accumulating Debris. MarinePollutionBulletin, 46, 197-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0025-326x(02)00356-9
[49]
Acha, E., et al. (2008) An Overview of Physical and Ecological Processes in the Rio de la Plata Estuary. Continental Shelf Research, 28, 1579-1588.
[50]
Giberto, D.A., Bremec, C.S., Acha, E.M. and Mianzan, H. (2004) Large-Scale Spatial Patterns of Benthic Assemblages in the SW Atlantic: The Rio de la Plata Estuary and Adjacent Shelf Waters. Estuarine, CoastalandShelfScience, 61, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2004.03.015
[51]
Guerrero, R.A., Acha, E.M., Framin˜an, M.B. and Lasta, C.A. (1997) Physical Oceanography of the Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina. ContinentalShelfResearch, 17, 727-742. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0278-4343(96)00061-1
[52]
Bianchi, T.S. (2007) Biogeochemistry of Estuaries. Oxford University Press.
[53]
Calliari, D., Gómez, M. and Gómez, N. (2005) Biomass and Composition of the Phytoplankton in the Río de la Plata: Large-Scale Distribution and Relationship with Environmental Variables during a Spring Cruise. ContinentalShelfResearch, 25, 197-210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2004.09.009
[54]
Lemaire, G., Franzluebbers, A., Carvalho, P.C.D.F. and Dedieu, B. (2014) Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems: Strategies to Achieve Synergy between Agricultural Production and Environmental Quality. Agriculture, Ecosystems&Environment, 190, 4-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.08.009
[55]
Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (2009) Prevención y conta-minación de la contaminación de origen terrestre en el Río de la Plata y su frente Marítimo mediante la implementación del frente estratégico de Freplata. ARG/09/G31. https://unsdg.un.org/es/un-entities/pnuma
[56]
Kurucz, A., Masello, A., Méndez, S., Cranston, R. and Wellas, P.G. (1998) Calidad ambiental del Río de la Plata. In: Wells P, Daborn GR, editors. El Río de la Plata. Una revisión ambiental. Un informe de antecedentes del Proyecto Ecoplata. Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University Halifax, 71-86.
[57]
Ministerio de Asuntos Agrarios de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (2007) Distribución geográfica de los sectores de pesca utilizados por la flota comercial que operó en el Río de la Plata durante la zafra invernal de la corvina rubia Micropogonias furnieri. https://www.gba.gob.ar/desarrollo_agrario/carne_vacuna_aviar_porcina_y_otros/registro_ganadero
[58]
Defeo, O., Horta, S., Carranza, A., Lercari, D., De Alava, A., Gómez, J., Martínez, G., Lozoya, J.P. and Celentano, E. (2009) Hacia un manejo ecosistémico de pesquerías. Areas marinas protegidas en Uruguay. Facultad de Ciencias-DINARA.
[59]
Darrigran, G. (2002) Potential Impact of Filter-Feeding Invaders on Temperate Inland Freshwater Environments. BiologicalInvasions, 4, 145-156. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1020521811416
[60]
Giberto, D.A., Bremec, C.S., Schejter, L., Schiariti, A., Mianzan, H. and Acha, E.M. (2006) The Invasive Rapa Whelk Rapanavenosa (Valenciennes 1846): Status and Potential Eco-Logical Impacts in the Río de la Plata Estuary, Argentina-Uruguay. Journal of Shellfish Research, 25, 919-924.
[61]
Brazeiro, A., Acha, E., Mianzán, H., Gómez, M. and Férnandez, V. (2003) Aquatic Priority Areas for the Conservation and Management of the Ecological Integrity of the Rio de la Plata and Its Maritime Front. Montevideo-Buenos Aires, FrePlata, Proyecto PNUD-GEF RLA/99/631.
