Açaí berries, increasingly in demand around the world, are causing deforestation and biodiversity loss in the Amazon
Açaí berries are rich in properties and are traditionally consumed in the Amazon region. In recent years, however, this "superfood" has become very popular and increasingly in demand all over the world. More resources are therefore needed to produce it and a new study shows how this situation is leading to the loss of biodiversity in the areas of the Amazon where it is grown.
Be it in the form of smoothie powder, supplement or other, açaí is increasingly loved and consumed, it is considered an excellent "superfood" to be used with a certain regularity. This success, however, is leading to environmental imbalances.
New research, published in Biological Conservation, highlights just how the increase in açaí plantations is causing the loss of biodiversity, changing the life of plants in important forests in the Amazon.
Over the past decade, açaí exports have increased exponentially and the sector has grown by 51% in 2019 and 2020. Undoubtedly an economic advantage for those who grow this precious berry, especially the inhabitants of Pará, a state in the Amazon that is the largest exporter of açaí. But at what price for the environment?
To produce more berries, native trees in the Amazon floodplain forests must be felled to make room for açaí palms. These are trees that require bright light and a lot of water to grow, so planting them in floodplains is your best bet for higher yields. In this process of creating monocultures, however, biodiversity loss abounds and the landscape is changed for the worse.
As stated in the abstract of the study:
Our results suggest that açaí intensification alters the structure of woody plant associations in the estuarine forest. The abundance of trees and the richness of species steadily decrease as the density of the açaí clusters increases, with some woods dominated by açaí and almost devoid of tree species. As a result, landscapes dominated by high-intensity woodlands are largely impoverished in terms of undergrowth, canopy and emerging vegetation.
In 2013, Pará's environmental department set limits on the number of açaí palms that can be grown and harvested in a given area to prevent problems for floodplain forests. But the reality is that these limits are largely ignored.
More specifically, the limitations for farmers are that they can grow 400 groups of plants, called clusters, and harvest 200 palms per hectare. However, the study researchers found up to 1.000 clusters per hectare on some properties.
In a previous study, also conducted by the same researchers, it was shown that the management of more than 400 groups of plants per hectare reduces the diversity of species in the floodplains by at least 60%.
In conclusion, the study calls for more regulation and training on sustainable agriculture for local farmers in order to provide important economic opportunities but without destroying the environment.
We as consumers do not necessarily have to deprive ourselves of this superfood, but it is important to buy it from organic agriculture and from sustainable companies, attentive to the supply chain.
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Fonte: Biological Conservation
Read also:
- Açai berries: the benefits and how to use them in the kitchen
