What research across 115 farms reveals about soil, climate, and cultivation

A yerba mate leaf is shaped long before it is harvested, dried, or brewed.

It begins with the ground beneath the plant: the geological material from which the soil formed, its acidity, organic matter, and available minerals. It is also influenced by temperature, rainfall, altitude, and whether the plant grows in full sun or within a more diverse forest system.

Together, these factors are known as edaphoclimatic conditions—the combined influence of soil and climate on a plant.

In 2022, researchers led by Ederlan Magri studied how these conditions affect the elemental composition of yerba mate leaves. Their findings show that origin is more than a place on a map. The environment in which yerba mate grows leaves a measurable signature inside the leaf.

Studying Yerba Mate Across South America

The researchers collected paired soil-and-leaf samples from 115 farms in 70 locations across Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.

The locations represented the principal yerba mate-producing regions of South America. Some plants were cultivated in monoculture plantations, while others grew in agroforestry systems alongside other plant and tree species.

For every location, the researchers examined:

• The geological origin of the soil

• Soil chemistry and texture

• Organic matter

• Temperature and rainfall

• Altitude

• Cultivation system

• The elements present in the yerba mate leaves

By studying the soil and leaves together, the researchers could identify relationships between the conditions surrounding the plant and what the plant accumulated as it grew.

Soil Carries a Geological History

Not all soils are created from the same material.

Over long periods, rock is broken down by water, heat, biological activity, and weathering. The original rock—known as the soil’s parent material—helps determine the soil’s physical and chemical characteristics.

The study compared yerba mate grown in soils originating from sedimentary materials with plants grown in soils formed from igneous rocks, including basalt.

This difference proved significant.

Yerba mate leaves grown in soils derived from sedimentary material generally had lower concentrations of several elements than leaves grown in basalt-derived soils. The highest elemental values were found primarily in plants growing in soils formed from igneous rock.

In the words of the researchers:

“Soil parent material is determinant for the elemental composition of yerba mate leaves.”

The finding gives scientific meaning to the idea of origin. The soil beneath a yerba mate plant carries a geological history, and that history influences what is ultimately present in the leaf.

A Measurable Difference Inside the Leaf

The researchers found considerable variation in the concentrations of several elements, including:

• Manganese

• Zinc

• Iron

• Aluminum

• Barium

This variation was not random. It was associated with differences in soil origin, climate, altitude, and cultivation.

Yerba mate demonstrated a notable capacity to take up certain elements from its environment. Plants growing in different soils consequently developed different elemental profiles.

This does not mean that one isolated mineral defines the plant. It means that the leaf reflects an entire growing system—geology, soil chemistry, climate, and agricultural method working together.

Temperature and Altitude Also Matter

Soil was only part of the story.

The study found a positive relationship between average annual temperature and the amounts of calcium and boron in the leaves. Temperature affects plant physiology, including water movement and nutrient uptake through the roots.

When a plant releases more water through its leaves, it draws additional water and dissolved elements upward from the soil. This helps explain why certain elements were more closely associated with warmer growing conditions.

Altitude also played a role. Under particular soil conditions, nitrogen levels in the leaves were related to both elevation and soil organic matter.

The researchers therefore found that leaf composition cannot be attributed to a single environmental feature. Soil, temperature, altitude, and organic matter interact as parts of the same system.

The Growing Method Leaves Its Own Signature

How yerba mate is cultivated also changes the conditions surrounding the plant.

Of the farms studied, 67 used monoculture systems and 48 used agroforestry systems. In agroforestry, yerba mate grows in a more diverse environment that can include native trees, shade, leaf litter, and greater biological activity.

Leaves from agroforestry systems contained higher concentrations of manganese and lower concentrations of phosphorus than leaves from monoculture plantations.

A forest environment can retain soil moisture for longer periods and maintain milder temperatures than an exposed plantation. It can also support relationships between plant roots, fungi, and microorganisms that influence how nutrients become available.

The cultivation system therefore does not simply organize the farm. It changes the immediate environment experienced by the plant.

One Plant, Different Expressions

Yerba mate is adaptable. The study found that it can grow under different environmental conditions throughout its native South American range.

But adaptability does not mean uniformity.

A plant growing in basalt-derived soil does not necessarily develop the same elemental profile as one growing in sedimentary soil. A plant cultivated under forest cover does not experience the same moisture, temperature, and biological activity as one growing in full sun. Differences in altitude and temperature create additional variation.

The species remains yerba mate, but its environment produces different expressions within the leaf.

That is the central finding of the research:

“Growing conditions affect the elemental composition of yerba mate plants.”

Why Knowing the Origin Matters

A statement of origin tells us more than the country where a product was packed. It points toward the geological, climatic, and agricultural conditions behind the leaf.

The research demonstrates that:

• Soil parent material affects the elements accumulated by yerba mate.

• Basalt-derived and sedimentary-derived soils produce measurably different leaf profiles.

• Temperature and altitude influence the concentration of certain elements.

• Agroforestry and monoculture systems create different growing conditions.

• The environment leaves a measurable signature inside the plant.

This is why the story of yerba mate begins in the soil.

Every harvested leaf carries evidence of the place where it grew—the ground beneath it, the climate around it, and the system used to cultivate it.

Origin becomes part of the leaf.
Yerba Quantica is produced in Misiones, Argentina. A unique growing environment of mineral rich soil, perfect temperature and altitude with abundant subtropical rainfall creating exceptional conditions.

Original research: Ederlan Magri, Julierme Zimmer Barbosa, Rodrigo Studart Corrêa, André Carlos Auler, Alice Teresa Valduga, and Antônio Carlos Vargas Motta, “Linking Edaphoclimatic Conditions with Elementary Composition of Yerba Mate Leaves in South America,” Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Volume 107, 2022.

Read the original peer-reviewed article