Producción Científica

Araucaria angustifolia characterizes mixed Ombrophilous Forests. This Paraná pine tree has been of great economic, cultural and social importance for southern Brazil. Its cutting is restricted, as it is threatened with extinction and the use of its seed has been encouraged. This study highlights scientific research on this conifer by bibliometric analysis and reviews trends in new research on its seed and some of its food applications. The Web of Science© database revealed 620 scientific articles and the bibliometric analysis through VOSviewer showed the worldwide interest in growing. The increase in research in the areas of silviculture, phytoscience and ecology reflects the concern with the preservation of “Matas das Araucárias”. Concurrently, research in food science and technology has increased, as pine nut seed can produce starch-rich food flour with low glycemic response and source of dietary fiber and some minerals. Also, along with its husk, provide bioactive compounds with potential application in the special food, active/smart and reinforced packaging and even pharmacological industries.

Scientific studies on silvopastoral systems have led to permanent changes oriented toward better silvopasture practices, as well as to policy strategies to respond effectively to the global objectives of restoration and sustainable development. In this work, we performed a bibliometric analysis with the purpose of identifying changes associated with different silvopastoral systems. We applied Bibliometrix in R to analyze 5708 documents published between 1983 and 2022 by including the terms “silvopastoral” and “silvopasture”, among others. The results showed a longitudinal and exponential increase in silvopasture studies over the last 20 years. We adjusted the growth to an S-Curve function with an R2 of 96.06%. The interest of researchers regarding knowledge about silvopasture has evolved; initially, it focused on the characterization of silvopasture, whereas recently, it has focused on the search for strategies to improve the sustainable use of silvopasture, including ecosystem restoration and the implementation of better practices. The following countries stand out as those with the largest scientific production of studies on silvopasture: The United States, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina in the Americas; China and India in Asia; and Spain; and Germany, and the United Kingdom in Europe. In the case of Ecuador, cited leaders in silvopasture facilitated the construction of a group of experts who contribute to the development of public policies. The most cited publications appeared in journals published by the Springer group, Elsevier, and MDPI Journals, mostly in open-access systems. In the future, the disruptive contribution of open-access systems in the global dissemination of knowledge, breaking through the economic constraints of countries, universities, and researchers, should be evaluated.

Globally, aquaculture, especially shrimp farming, plays an important economic role. However, it is known that traditional shrimp farming could negatively create environment impacts (e.g. due to water discharge into coastal areas and marine habitats), if good management practices are not followed. For these problems to be minimized, the industry needs to develop and implement technologies that promote sustainable aquaculture. Among different techniques, the biofloc technology (BFT) system and, more recently, the synbiotics and aquamimicry are considered alternatives microbial-based approaches that address high yields with certain level of biosecurity and better environmental practices. However, different from biofloc, both aquamimicry and synbiotics use fermented carbon sources in their routine practices. The present article aims to bring (i) the current status and research and development (R&D) efforts, (ii) the basics principles around synbiotics and aquamimicry; (iii) compares their key characteristics and (iv) discuss whether these two systems would be considered novel disruptive techniques or more likely management tools. The manuscript evidenced both systems share several operational and microbial similarities, and operate under comparable conditions. Recent bibliometric analysis (Web of Science) showed 578 articles for BFT, and only 20 for synbiotics and 3 for aquamimicry, an evident lack of scientific background highlighting that more science-based R&D efforts are needed in synbiotics and aquamimicry.