Sustainable Intensification of Quinoa Crops in the Altiplano: A Permaculture Approach

Sustainable Intensification of Quinoa Crops in the Altiplano: A Permaculture Approach | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Sustainable Intensification of Quinoa Crops in the Altiplano: A Permaculture Approach Gihan Soliman, Adriana Otero Blanca⁵, Alejandra Mendez Tejada, and 12 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6674565/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Quinoa cultivation in Bolivia faces increasing challenges due to environmental and geopolitical factors,exacerbated by unsustainable farming practices and climate change. Soil degradation and biodiversity lossthreaten long-term production viability and demanding sustainable agricultural interventions. In the BolivianAltiplano, where conditions are extreme, the need for soil treatments become essential. This paperexplores nature-based and innovative soil treatments aimed at mitigating these issues through‘permaculture’—a dynamic, interdisciplinary approach integrating observation, feedback, ecologicaldesigns, and multi-variable experimentation into soil management strategies. Such an approach alsoresonates with both the principles of Cybernetics and agroecology. Traditional permaculture techniquessuch as crop rotation, bio-fertilisers, ecological designs, and companion planting in support of balancedmicrobiota; alongside innovative bio-inputs, offer promising pathways for sustainable intensification.Community participation and resource sharing are, additionally, an imperative in permaculture–a factor thatis acknowledged but not statistically addressed in this instance. One soil treatment demonstrated a total 93% increase in emergence and over 200% enhancement in the sum of plant heights and survival rates –significantly improving growth and resilience to water stress. By leveraging the role of soil fungi, bacteria,and other microorganisms, this study highlights practical strategies for enhancing quinoa production whilepromoting ecological balance in Bolivia's Altiplano. quinoa sustainable intensification fungi bacteria water stress permaculture holistic Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6674565","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":458945175,"identity":"355ae944-a50e-45ae-b309-087c0e6f1021","order_by":0,"name":"Gihan 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