Cover crops in the agricultural systems of the Argentine Pampas

Excerpt

The Argentine Pampas (figure 1) is located in the south cone of South America (31° to 39° S and 58° to 65° W). The region extends along 55 to 60 million ha (135 to 148 million ac) and was originally covered with temperate grasslands. The region shows several similarities as well as differences with their equivalent grassland of North America. In a simplified picture, the climate is humid in the east and subhumid/semiarid in the west. Rainfall varies from 1,200 mm y⁻¹ (47 in yr⁻¹) in the east to 500 mm y⁻¹ (20 in yr⁻¹) in the west. Fall and spring/summer are the rainier seasons but there is considerable variability in monthly and annual precipitation. The Pampas is classified as mesothermal, with average temperature around 14°C (57.2°F) in the south and 20°C (68°F) in the north. Winters can be cold, especially in the south, where it sometimes snows, but soils never become frozen. Most soils of the Pampas were developed from loess-like sediments and are mainly Mollisols. From east to west, soils are mainly Argiudolls, Hapludolls, and Haplustolls, and in some localized areas Natraquolls. Other less representative soils are Alfisols, Vertisols, and Entisols (Lavado and Taboada 2009).

The Pampas is…