Land-Use Patterns and Supply Chain Relationship in Upper Parana Atlantic Forest.

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Agricultural Science
• Conservation Biology

Background:

• Agriculture expansion drives biodiversity loss, often overlooked in relation to supply chain structures.
• Research has focused on deforestation, with limited understanding of land-use dynamics linked to agro-industry.

Purpose of the Study:

• Analyze land-use systems in Argentina's Upper Parana Atlantic Forest, a biodiversity hotspot.
• Link spatial-temporal land-cover changes to agro-industrial supply chain integration.
• Identify trends in agricultural and forest land use over two decades.

Main Methods:

• Divided study area into hexagonal cells (approx. 100 km²).
• Analyzed interannual trends in native forest cover and land uses (2000-2019).
• Regressed land-cover class proportions and Shannon diversity indices against time.

Main Results:

• Identified two contrasting spatial configurations: homogenized (single land use) and heterogeneous (diverse land uses).
• These configurations correlate with transaction modalities between producers and agro-industrial actors.
• Land-use patterns impact native forest cover and habitat conservation outside protected areas.

Conclusions:

• Agro-industrial supply chain territorial embedding influences land-use trajectories and biodiversity outcomes.
• Understanding these links is crucial for designing sustainable land-use incentives.
• Informs governance for conservation measures, such as Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs).