An integrative approach to silvopastoral system design: perspectives, potentials and principles

Mackay-Smith, Thomas H.; Spiekermann, Raphael I.; Richards, Dan R.; Harcourt, Nichola; Burkitt, Lucy L.

doi:10.1080/00288233.2023.2298922

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…There is growing demand for policy changes to further incentivize the protection and establishment of smaller patches of trees integrated within pastoral systems for carbon sequestration (Polyakov & Stahlmann-Brown, 2022), and agricultural resilience (Ministry for Primary Industries, 2020). The capacity for trees to reduce cattle heat stress may thus provide a further argument for policy changes to incentivize the protection and establishment of trees (Mackay-Smith et al, 2021, 2024.…”

Section: Tree Contributions To Climate Change Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are also costs associated with establishing trees. In A-NZ, farmers reported numerous economic barriers to tree establishment, including the costs of seedlings, fencing to protect young trees from livestock, and protection from pests (Mackay-Smith et al, 2024).…”

Section: Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…survivability of young trees due to pests(Abdul-Salam et al, 2022;Mackay-Smith et al, 2024).Understanding the mechanisms behind context dependence in the impact of trees on cattle heat stress may provide insights for tree species selection. Trees could provide a net benefit in reducingF I G U R E 5 Projected national total milk and meat production and tree contributions toward production under climate change scenarios 2070-2080 and current tree distribution.…”

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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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Section: Tree Contributions To Climate Change Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Industriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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