Seasonal patterns of CO2 exchange in a tropical intensively managed pasture in Southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Tropical pastures are one of the main land uses in Brazil, forming the backbone of the country's beef and milk production chain. Adopting sustainable management practices that increase the productivity of pastoral livestock systems is essential to mitigate environmental impacts and ensure food security. However, eddy covariance studies that contribute to understanding the influence of grazing management strategies on the ability of intensively grazed tropical pastures to absorb carbon remain scarce. Therefore, our main objective was to investigate the dynamics of CO₂ and water vapor exchange and biomass production in a tropical C4 grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cv. Cameroon) pasture under intermittent stocking management strategies from March 2021 to June 2023. We found that the pasture acted as a net source of CO₂ to the atmosphere in both years studied. The annual NEE was 34 ± 14 g CO₂-C m⁻² yr⁻¹ in 2021–2022 and 21 ± 12 g CO₂-C m⁻² yr⁻¹ in 2022–2023. Reco, influenced by rising air and soil temperatures, increased rainfall, and higher incoming solar radiation levels, especially during spring and summer, played a crucial role in this result. The pasture absorbed more CO₂, showed higher evapotranspiration, and produced more leaves in the rainy periods when the pasture structure was kept close to the previously established management targets. CO₂ losses to the atmosphere prevailed in the dry periods and in wet periods where the pasture structure was far from the optimal limits for elephant grass.