Crop water relations, bioenergy options and ecosystem services in the La Plata Basin

The report examines the ecohydrological impacts of agricultural expansion in the La Plata Basin. In the Pampas, it identifies optimal groundwater depths for corn, soybean, and wheat, and suggests that replacing pastures with annual crops increases flooding risk. In the Chaco-Espinal region, agricultural conversion has led to deep groundwater recharge, salt mobilization, and the emergence of 'new rivers'. In Paraguay, deforestation of the Atlantic Forest increased river water yield from 40% to nearly 70% of rainfall inputs. The report also argues that harvesting biomass from fire-prone dry forests for bioelectricity is more carbon-efficient than soybean biodiesel, which causes significant emissions due to land-use change.

• In the inland Pampas of Argentina, specific groundwater depth ranges optimize crop yields: 1.4–2.5 m for corn, 1.2–2.2 m for soybean, and 0.7–1.6 m for winter-season wheat. Water tables shallower than these ranges are linked to yield drops due to waterlogging and salinity, while deeper tables lead to steady declines as water becomes inaccessible to plants.
• The replacement of pastures by annual crops in the western Pampas may have facilitated flooding. Modeling suggests a bimodal behavior under annual crops where lower water consumption and shallower rooting depths create a more flooding-prone situation compared to alfalfa pastures.
• In the Chaco-Espinal region, the conversion of dry forests to annual croplands has triggered deep groundwater recharge and salt migration. This process has led to the development of 'new rivers'—streams that emerged in areas lacking surface water for 9,000 years—causing severe land degradation and infrastructure damage.
• Deforestation in the most affected area of Paraguay (130,000 km2) saw forest cover drop from 95% in 1970 to 5% in 2000. This transformation increased the water yield of the river segment between Guaira and Posadas, with the proportion of rainfall reaching the river rising from 40% (1940-1980) to nearly 70% by the end of the study period.
• Bioelectricity derived from fire-prone dry forests is presented as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels and soybean biodiesel. While soybean biodiesel results in net emissions of ~580 g CO2e MJ-1 due to land-use change (taking ~550 years to repay the carbon debt), bioelectricity would offset GHG emissions by 170 to 345 kg CO2e GJ-1.
• In the driest portion of the Chaco region, humans currently capture less than 8% of the primary productivity of native forests through grazing and forestry, with charcoal being the dominant forest product.

APA

Jobbágy, E. (n.d.). Crop water relations, bioenergy options and ecosystem services in the La Plata Basin. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/Final_report_IDRC_Jobbagy.pdf

Chicago

Jobbágy, Esteban. Crop water relations, bioenergy options and ecosystem services in the La Plata Basin. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, n.d. https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/Final_report_IDRC_Jobbagy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jobbágy |first1=Esteban |title=Crop water relations, bioenergy options and ecosystem services in the La Plata Basin |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |url=https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/Final_report_IDRC_Jobbagy.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jobbgyndcrop, author = {Jobbágy, Esteban}, title = {{Crop water relations, bioenergy options and ecosystem services in the La Plata Basin}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/uploads/2014/03/Final_report_IDRC_Jobbagy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }