Pinhão agroforestry system in the Planalto Serrano Catarinense, Brazil: Characterization of practices and local knowledge

Abstract

Background: Pinhão Agroforestry System (PAS) is a distinctive socioecological legacy from Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil, centered on pinhão extractivism (the nut-like seeds of Araucaria angustifolia) and cattle ranching. This study aimed to characterize the management practices and knowledge associated with the PAS and to discuss their implications for the conservation of the Araucaria Forest.

Methods: An ethnobotany survey was conducted with 26 families in the municipalities of Painel, Urubici, Urupema, Bom Jardim da Serra and São Joaquim (Serrano Plateau of Santa Catarina) to document the management practices and production arrangements within the PAS. Additionally, an exploratory temporal analysis was performed to compare land-use dynamics in the study area with those observed across the rest of Santa Catarina.

Results: Pinhão extraction is the primary source of income for 65% of informants, who self-identify as pinhão extractivists. The PAS is mainly characterized by family labor (77%), smallholdings (73%), and low levels of technification. It encompasses traditional climbing techniques for pinhão harvesting and strategies for storage, threshing, processing and marketing. The system is also characterized by shared informal norms that promote low-impact harvesting. In areas where PAS occurs, forest-cover reduction was smaller than that observed across Santa Catarina as a whole.

Conclusions: The Traditional Pinhão Agroforestry System (PAS) is maintained by family farmers who identify themselves as pinhão extractivists and is characterized by shared ecological knowledge, intergenerationally transmitted management practices, and a long-standing relationship with the Araucaria Forest. These elements contribute to both sustainable pinhão harvesting and the long-term forest conservation.

Keywords: Araucaria Forest; Atlantic Forest, Highlands; Non-timber forest products