A fruit species in the middle of the Araucarias Forest: the threats of deforestation and (re)forestation to feijoa (Acca sellowiana) in Southern Brazil

• In Event: Forests, Communities, and States: Ecological and Political Challenges in Latin American Environmental History

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest biome occupies a large area in Brazil. In the Southern part of the country, one of the phytophysiognomies in this biome is the Mixed Ombrophilous Forest (MOF) or Araucarias Forest. The Araucarias Forest is an ecological formation, with the intersection between forest and fields, which influenced the occupation, the economy, and local culture. After 1890, the demographic flow became more intense in southern Brazil. These groups—immigrants and migrants from other Brazilian states—initiated the deforestation of the MOF to open space for agriculture. In addition to the species deforested to provide wood, other species were also impacted, such as the fruit species feijoa (Acca sellowiana). The feijoa is native to Brazilian Southern highlands and northern Uruguay, and it is found mainly in Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes, most often in the Araucaria Forest. This presentation will describe the feijoa and the threats that feijoa has been suffering from deforestation and the insertion of exotic forestry for monoculture (reforestation), since the beginning of the 20th century. Nowadays, feijoa is considered a native species with the potential to be exploited in the place where it is endemic and an alternative for agroforestry producers.

Author

• Samira Peruchi Moretto, Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul