Unveiling Agroecological Transitions in Northern Patagonia: A Comparative Typology Approach

VALERIA ESTHER ÁLVAREZ^1,2,3,4*VERÓNICA ANDREA EL MUJTAR^2,3ANDREA GABRIELA CARDOZO^3,5,6LEANDRO ÁXEL SISÓN CÁCERES^3,6LEILA YAMILA HEINZLE^3,6ELISA CASTÁN³PABLO ADRIÁN TITTONELL^2,3,7,8

• ¹National University of General San Martín, San Martín, Argentina
• ²CONICET Patagonia Norte, Río Negro Province, Argentina
• ³Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias Bariloche, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
• ⁴Instituto Tecnologico de Chascomus, Chascomús, Argentina
• ⁵Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• ⁶INTA Agencia de Extensión Rural, El Bolsón, Argentina
• ⁷Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement, Montpellier, France
• ⁸Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen, Netherlands

Agroecological transitions are complex, multidimensional processes that require context-sensitive analytical tools. Typology construction has emerged as a valuable approach to characterising farming system diversity and guiding agroecological transformations. This study applies a comparative typology approach in the Comarca Andina del Paralelo 42 (CAP42), a mountainous forest region of Northern Patagonia, Argentina. The study focudes on small/medium scale farms (median 13 ha) encompassing a wide range of production systems—fruit and/or vegetables growing, livestock, and mixed farms. We use the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) to characterize the agroecological transition level of 53 farms distributed across the CAP42 region. Data from TAPE were analysed using two complementary methods: archetypal analysis and Reinert’s descending hierarchical classification. Results show that both methods effectively captured meaningful farm types based on the configuration of the Elements of Agroecology, which facilitates the selection of representative farms. Archetypal Analysis revealed subtle intra-group differences and hybrid or transitional profiles, while Reinert’s classification provided distinct and interpretable clusters. The resulting typology comprised four groups—referred to as Agroecology Keepers, Community Pillars, Social Weavers, and Agroecology Seekers—reflecting the diverse and socially driven nature of agroecological change in the CAP42 region. This study advances methodological tools for agroecological research by demonstrating how typologies can enhance both analytical insight and practical relevance. It highlights the importance of balancing interpretability and complexity when working with multidimensional datasets. Further research on the main barriers and drivers would contribute to deeply understand the detected patterns and the effects of territorial context on the agroecological transition dynamic in this region.