Project will evaluate the physical quality and water availability of grazed soils in Chilean Patagonia

This initiative, which is led by Dr. Dorota Dec, an academic from the Institute of Agricultural and Soil Engineering of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, aims to evaluate the implementation of a controlled drainage system in a plain to improve the productivity of meadows without detrimental effects on the properties dependent on the soil structure and pore functions.

“What we hope is that, through the implementation of controlled drainage, the production of Las Vegas will increase, due to the increase in the growth period, and at the same time improve the growth rate during the period of water restriction due to its contribution from the subsoil compared to the treatment without drainage”, explained Dr. Dec, a member of the Center for Research on Volcanic Soils (CISVo) of the UACh.

“We are also going to investigate the influence of stocking rate as part of Magallanes cattle management, where for treatment with lower stocking rate, greater dynamics and root mass and aerial biomass are expected,” explained the professor.

The following people participate in this project:

• José Dörner F., academic at the Institute of Agricultural and Soil Engineering of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the UACh
• Iván Ordoñez V., from INIA Kampenaike
• José Luis Arumi R., academic at the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Department of Water Resources, U. de Concepción

Other UACh projects as a collaborating institution