A systematic review of the effects of silvopastoral system on thermal environment and dairy cows’ behavioral and physiological responses

Deniz, Matheus; Sousa, Karolini Tenffen de; Vieira, Frederico Márcio Corrêa; Vale, Marcos Martinez do; Dittrich, João Ricardo; Daros, Ruan R.; Hötzel, María José

doi:10.1007/s00484-023-02431-5

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Trees have an inconsistent impact on ambient humidity in silvopastoral systems (Deniz et al., 2023). Tree evapotranspiration can marginally increase humidity (Deniz et al., 2019; Fries et al., 2012; Meili, Manoli, et al., 2021; Young & Mitchell, 1994), although there are also cases where grassland has higher measured humidity levels (Karki & Goodman, 2013, 2015; Priante‐Filho et al., 2004).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In combination with the night time air temperature ( T n), CETI has been empirically linked to the dry matter intake adjustment factor (DMI f ) of cattle (Fox et al., 2004; Tedeschi & Fox, 2020; Thornton et al., 2022). We modified the input parameters of the CETI equation to represent local microclimate modifications caused by the presence of trees in livestock systems (Deniz et al., 2023). We assumed that the presence of trees has an impact in altering the air temperature and relative humidity by a fixed factor that can theoretically vary between infinitely positive or negative values.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We included the global silvopastoral systems literature in our search, supplemented by examples of the impacts of trees on urban microclimates, as this is a far larger literature. In most climates, trees reduce ambient air temperatures, with the maximum difference between no tree cover and high tree cover reaching ~2°C in urban and silvopastoral contexts (Bowler et al, 2010;Deniz et al, 2019Deniz et al, , 2023. However, the magnitude of the temperature reduction depends on the tree canopy cover (Richards, Fung, et al, 2020), and pastoral systems rarely have complete canopy cover (Chapman et al, 2020).…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysis Into Mechanisms Of Tree Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impact of trees on cattle heat stress depends on the background climate conditions and functional characteristics of the vegetation, but has typically been found to be positive (Deniz et al., 2023). A systematic review of empirical studies found substantial evidence that silvopastoral systems perform better than treeless pasture for a range of behavioral and biophysical thermal indicators (Deniz et al., 2023). Despite this overall conclusion, in some circumstances, the negative impact of reduced wind flow can negate the benefit of shade provision, meaning that treeless pasture supports greater thermal comfort (Giro et al., 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree contributions to climate change adaptation through reduced cattle heat stress and benefits to milk and beef production

Richards,

Dewhurst,

Giltrap

et al. 2024

Global Change Biology

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Cattle heat stress causes billions of dollars' worth of losses to meat and milk production globally, and is projected to become more severe in the future due to climate change. Tree establishment in pastoral livestock systems holds potential to reduce cattle heat stress and thus provide nature‐based adaptation. We developed a general model for the impact of trees on cattle heat stress, which can project milk and meat production under future climate scenarios at varying spatial scales. The model incorporates the key microclimate mechanisms influenced by trees, including shade, air temperature, humidity, and wind speed. We conducted sensitivity analyses to demonstrate the relative influence of different mechanisms through which trees can impact cattle heat stress, and how tree impacts are influenced by climatic context globally. Trees hold the greatest potential to reduce cattle heat stress in higher latitudes and altitudes, with minor benefits in the lowland tropics. We projected the future contributions of current trees in mitigating climate change impacts on the dairy and beef herds of Aotearoa—New Zealand (A‐NZ) in 2070–2080. Trees were simulated to contribute to A‐NZ milk yields by over 491 million liters (lower CI = 112 million liters, upper CI = 850 million liters), and meat yields by over 8316 tonnes (lower CI = 2431 tonnes, upper CI = 13,668 tonnes) annually. The total economic contribution of existing trees in mitigating future cattle heat stress was valued at $US 244 million (lower CI = $US 58 million, upper CI = $US 419 million). Our findings demonstrate the importance of existing trees in pastoral landscapes and suggest that strategic tree establishment can be a valuable adaptation option for reducing cattle heat stress under climate change. Tree establishment in the next few years is critical to provide adaptation capacity and economic benefit in future decades.

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