Priority areas for watershed service conservation in the Guapi-Macacu region of Rio de Janeiro, Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Ecological Processes

Table 3 Summary of annual farming systems profits in the study area

Main crops	Unit	Batatal sub-watershed				Caboclo sub-watershed			Pasture land systems oriented to beef production considering slope^a
		Upland		Lowland		Lowland
		FS1	FS2	FS3	FS4	FS5	FS6a	FS6b	≤15°	16° to 25°	>25°
Banana	(BRL)	972	972	983
Cassava			-1,334	3,950	3,950	5,231	5,232	5,232
Green maize (summer)				2,371	2,371	2,066	2,067	2,067
Green maize (winter)				3,438	3,438	2,371	2,371	2,371
Yam				2,861	2,861	6,199	6,199	6,199
Courgette					3,633
Gilo								10,941
Okra							10,092
Beans (summer)						1,419	1,419	1,419
Beans (winter)						1,522	1,523	1,523
Occurrence	(%)	80	20	50	50	70	15	15
Typical area and crop distribution for each farming system (FS)	(ha)	10.3	10.3 (8.3 banana, 2.0 cassava)	6.0 (2.0 cassava, 2.0 green maize, 1.0 yam, 1.0 banana)	6.0 (2.0 cassava, 2.0 green maize, 1.0 yam, 1.0 courgette)	4.0 (1.0 cassava, 1.5 green maize, 1.0 yam, 0.5 beans)	4.0 (1.0 cassava, 1.5 green maize, 0.5 yam, 0.5 okra or gilo, 0.5 beans)
Per hectare profit	(BRL ha^-1)	972	526	3,894	4,336	4,889.7	5,376.3	5,482.5	20	40	100
Average value for extrapolation at the watershed level	(BRL ha^-1)	Macacu River lowland				Guapiaçú River
Average value for extrapolation at the watershed level	(BRL ha^-1)	4,114.8^b				5,051.6			20	40	100

^aAccording to expert interviews, there is a gain of 40 to 60 kg of live animal weight in high slope areas in contrast to those in lowlands with a gain in live animal weight of 120 to 150 kg in this particular watershed; ^bSince upland agriculture in the Batatal sub-watershed (FS1 and FS2) was not detected by the available land use classification (Naegeli [2010]; Pedreira et al. [2009]; Fidalgo et al. [2008]), we were limited to using average per hectare annual profits for lowland agriculture in Batatal (FS3 and FS4) resulting in an average annual per hectare value of 4,114.8 BRL.