Establishment of sustainable production systems by coupling eucalyptus plantation in land-use sequences

Abstract

   Brazil is the biggest eucalyptus forestation country in the world. Though there have been several studies reporting environmental impacts of eucalyptus plantation, in Brazil such issues have not occurred. This project evaluates backgrounds and finds threshold conditions to environmental mal-impacts. Based on verifying environmental functions of eucalyptus such as uptake of contaminated nitrate from groundwater and soil erosion control, sustainable crop producing systems with coupling with eucalyptus plantation in land-use sequences are analyzed.  As preliminary results, groundwater in sugar cane fields are affected by fertilization, and surface soil or organic matters are degraded, while those in eucalyptus forests are good.