The Potential of Agroforestry Systems in Southern Brazil

The need to recover degraded areas on rural properties, combined with the diversity of species suitable for use in a production system, gave rise to this research, which aimed to obtain information on the perceptions of farmers with knowledge related to agrobiodiversity and the use of native plant genetic resources for this purpose. The data reveal that, in the perception of farmers, permanent preservation areas are important for the conservation of water resources, but have restricted uses. There is consensus that the strategy of using Agroforestry Systems is viable in the recovery of degraded areas, especially if the composition of this system is predominantly native species that are functional to the environment and the property. A total of 146 ethnospecies were cited, among which the following stand out: Acca sellowiana, Araucaria angustifolia, Ilex paraguariensis, Campomanesia xanthocarpa, Eugenia pyriformis, Ocotea porosa, Maytenus ilicifolia, and Tabebuia alba.