Silvopastoral system as a climate-smart alternative for beef production: Enteric methane emission neutralization and animal thermal comfort increase

IF 6.1 1区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Agricultural Systems Pub Date : 2025-02-11 DOI:10.1016/j.agsy.2025.104277

Henrique B. Brunetti , Patrícia P.A. Oliveira , José R.M. Pezzopane , Alberto C. de C. Bernardi , Alexandre R. Garcia , Alexandre Berndt , André de F. Pedroso , Ana L.J. Lelis , Sérgio R. Medeiros

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Abstract

CONTEXT

Climate-smart agricultural systems must mitigate climate change and adapt to it.

OBJECTIVES

(i) test the ability of a silvopastoral system (SPS) in Brazil to neutralize the CH₄ enteric emission by tree carbon (C) assimilation, considering solely the stem-C destined to Products with Higher Added Value (HVAP) and furniture as valid, due to their long-term stability; (ii) test the SPS ability to provide increased animal thermal comfort and; (iii) compare the SPS productivity, animal thermal comfort and CH₄ emission with a full sun system (FS).

METHODS

The systems had four areas managed under rotational stocking with beef cattle and were established with Piatã palisadegrass [Urochloa brizantha Stapf cv. BRS Piatã] in 2007. In the SPS, eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus urograndis clone GG100) were planted in 2011, in single east-west oriented rows, with a 15 m × 2 m spacing, and thinned to 15 m × 4 m spacing in 2016. Microclimate data were collected in weather stations to determine the Black Globe and Humidity Index (BGHI). The CH₄ enteric emission was estimated using the Tier-2 equation (IPCC Methodological Guide - 2019). Tree height and diameter at breast height were measured every six months from October/2017 to April/2019 to estimate the stem biomass using an allometric equation. The stem biomass was multiplied by its carbon content and by 40 % to consider the break-through yield in sawmill.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

BGHI was lower in the SPS than in the FS. Even considering the stem-C appropriate for HVAP and furniture in a SPS with a stocking rate 256 % greater than the Brazilian average, 77 % of the CH₄ enteric emission was offset. When considering all the stem-C, the net C balance was −14.28 Mg CO₂ eq. ha⁻¹ year⁻¹.

SIGNIFICANCE

SPS are interesting alternatives to mitigate climate change while providing satisfactory animal production and increased animal thermal comfort.

Abstract Image

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来源期刊

Agricultural Systems 农林科学-农业综合

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

7.60%

发文量

174

审稿时长

30 days

期刊介绍： Agricultural Systems is an international journal that deals with interactions - among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural, social and economic environments. The scope includes the development and application of systems analysis methodologies in the following areas: Systems approaches in the sustainable intensification of agriculture; pathways for sustainable intensification; crop-livestock integration; farm-level resource allocation; quantification of benefits and trade-offs at farm to landscape levels; integrative, participatory and dynamic modelling approaches for qualitative and quantitative assessments of agricultural systems and decision making; The interactions between agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes; the multiple services of agricultural systems; food security and the environment; Global change and adaptation science; transformational adaptations as driven by changes in climate, policy, values and attitudes influencing the design of farming systems; Development and application of farming systems design tools and methods for impact, scenario and case study analysis; managing the complexities of dynamic agricultural systems; innovation systems and multi stakeholder arrangements that support or promote change and (or) inform policy decisions.