In the pathway: Advanced regenerative approaches
Syntropic agriculture
An approach developed by Ernst Götsch: imitating forest dynamics through succession, pruning and abundant biomass.
Explanation
A practitioner's approach developed in Brazil by Ernst Götsch (a Swiss farmer settled in Bahia since the 1980s): high density, plants of every layer planted together, frequent pruning to stimulate growth and produce biomass on site. Reference site: the Fazenda Olhos d'Água, 500 ha of forest restored from degraded pasture.
Refined definition
Syntropy (from the Greek syn “together” and tropos “tendency”) is the inverse concept of entropy: natural ecosystems tend to concentrate energy and complexity rather than dissipate it. Syntropic agriculture applies this observation by cultivating in very high multi-layer density, with frequent pruning cycles that stimulate regrowth and deposit biomass on the soil, the opposite of conventional agriculture, which “opens” the ecosystem.
Key points
The 4 Götsch principles
1. SUCCESSIONS PLANTED SIMULTANEOUSLY: pioneers (fast, to be cut), secondaries (medium), climax species (slow but final) on the same square metre. 2. STRATIFICATION: use every level of light. 3. STIMULATING PRUNING (“poda de produção”): cut drastically to relaunch growth and deposit biomass. 4. NO BARE SOIL: permanent cover from the cut biomass.
A note of transparency on the assessment
Ernst Götsch's know-how is remarkably documented in educational videos (the “Agenda Götsch” channel) and in visual results on the Fazenda Olhos d'Água. But few peer-reviewed scientific studies have quantified the yields and ecosystem services compared to other agroecological systems. Dayana Andrade and Felipe Pasini (academic collaborators of Götsch) have undertaken assessment work since 2018; a few publications in international journals have emerged since 2020, but the academic corpus remains limited for now. To be regarded as a valuable experimental path, in the process of validation. Reference source: Ernst Götsch, Homem e natureza : cultura na agricultura, Centro Sabiá, 1995.
Watch out for
- • It demands a lot of labour for the regular pruning, not suited to large areas without a team.
- • Climates: Götsch's syntropy works ideally in humid tropical zones (Brazil, Ivory Coast) where species grow fast. Adaptation to a temperate climate is documented but with different rhythms.
Examples
- • Accelerated ecological successions
- • Stimulating pruning (“poda de produção”)
- • Biomass left on the soil
- • High multi-layer density
- • Fazenda Olhos d'Água, Bahia, Brazil, a reference example
Sources
- Götsch, E. (1995). Homem e natureza : cultura na agricultura. Recife : Centro Sabiá.