On the risks of good intentions and poor evidence – comment on “Back to the future? Conservative grassland management can preserve soil health in the changing landscapes of Uruguay” by Säumel et al. (2023)
Abstract. In this article, we make comments on some methodological issues and on the general approach of the paper “Back to the future? Conservative grassland management can preserve soil health in the changing landscapes of Uruguay” (Säumel et al., 2023). We have identified several design and methodological problems in the aforementioned article that may induce potential misinterpretations. First, our concerns are related to aspects of the study design and methodology that, in our opinion, introduce biases and critical errors. Second, we are concerned about the possible interpretations of the study with respect to the design of policies and the development of non-tariff barriers for South American countries.
Authors
- Gonzalo Camba Sans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1251-1433)
- Cecilia Ríos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8681-7721)
- Andrés Quincke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8558-7466)
- Felipe Lezama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1557-8011)
- Bruno Bazzoni
- Agustín Núñez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0558-1679)
- Walter Baethgen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2052-2052)
- Santiago Baeza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6025-1053)
- Anaclara Guido (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2453-048X)
- Gervasio Piñeiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0184-9797)
- Fabiana Pezzani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2156-1176)
- Luis López‐Mársico (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9489-6674)
- Andrea Tommasino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1666-9633)
- Pablo Baldassini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9741-604X)
- Luciana Staiano
- José M. Paruelo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8784-9431)
- Federico Gallego (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4305-313X)
Institutions
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR)
- Universidad de la República de Uruguay (UY)
- Universidad de Buenos Aires (AR)
- Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology Research Institute (AR)
- Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (UY)
- Columbia University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- SOIL
- Published
- 2025-02-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-11-193-2025
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.72