Fontezuela Research and Innovation Center

About the Program
The Bayer Fontezuela Research and Innovation Center is located in the Pergamino of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The station was founded in 1947 and includes offices, laboratories and storage space. The physical landscape of the area is a plain with gentle undulations, and some depressions that create lagoons and ravines. There are no natural forests. The soils are typical argiudoles with a silty loam surface horizon with an average thickness of 25 cm, with a clay or clay loam subsoil with moderate permeability. They are deep soils, with a high percentage of organic matter, fertile and generally suitable for agriculture. The goal is to include plants that attract pollinators, birds and local fauna. Employees, consultants and maintenance contractors carry out different activities to plan, implement and maintain the landscape.

Practices and Impacts

• The team has planted native and introduced plant species chosen for the climate and soil conditions on unused green spaces around the 30-acre site. On-site vegetation includes aromatic plants, fruit trees and edible plants.
• The team's goals are to promote and protect habitat while also creating a pleasant garden space that employees and the community can enjoy and learn from. Accordingly, plant identification signs were placed in each sector.
• Annual monitoring is conducted of plant health and survival. A detailed plant inventory was taken in 2017 at each sector.