Applications of the Soil, Plant and Rumen Microbiomes in Pastoral Agriculture

Abstract

The production of dairy, meat, and fiber by ruminant animals relies on the biological processes occurring in soils, forage plants, and the animals' rumens. Each of these components has an associated microbiome, and these have traditionally been viewed as distinct ecosystems. However, these microbiomes operate under similar ecological principles and are connected via water, energy flows, and the carbon and nitrogen nutrient cycles. Here, we summarize the microbiome research that has been done in each of these three environments (soils, forage plants, animals' rumen) and investigate what additional benefits may be possible through understanding the interactions between the various microbiomes. The challenge for future research is to enhance microbiome function by appropriate matching of plant and animal genotypes with the environment to improve the output and environmental sustainability of pastoral agriculture.

Utilização de biofertilizantes alternativos no cultivo de palma forrageira: Uma revisão

“…A utilização de esterco no semiárido nordestino na cultura da palma forrageira é bastante restrita, apesar da criação de ruminantes ser uma das principais atividades econômicas, o homem do campo diante das suas necessidades e falta de conhecimento da importância desse material para as plantas, e também por tradição, vendem o esterco produzido pelos animais, para incrementar a renda da família. Técnicas que visam a adição de fertilizantes orgânicos podem promover para uma maior conscientização da importância na matéria orgânica nos cultivos agrícolas (Melo et al, 2009;Attwood et al, 2019) (Figura 4). A palma responde bem a adubação orgânica, e como os solos do semiárido, em sua maioria, apresentam baixo teor de matéria orgânica, a prática da fertilização é uma necessidade nos cultivos (Sales et al, 2014).…”

Insights into the soil microbiome and prospects for its manipulation for improved pasture resilience

“…In order to capture the benefits of plant-soil microbiome interactions means moving beyond consideration of the plant genotype alone, or even plant genotype × environment focus to much broader plant genotype × microbiome genotype × environment interactions (including management practices) (Attwood et al 2019). This will make understanding the impact of pasture management and resilience more complicated but ultimately more fruitful as many of the "missing" variables that determine outcomes between the interactions of soil, plant, and livestock will become clearer.…”

Soil Bacterial Community and Soil Enzyme Activity Depending on the Cultivation of Triticum aestivum, Brassica napus, and Pisum sativum ssp. arvense

“…There is a strong correlation between the soil microbiome and the plant microbiome [75,76]. It is the soil bacteriome that often determines the quality features of cultivable plants [77]. According to Bakker et al [78] and Xu et al [76], the prevailing phyla in the arable soil include Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Acidobacteria.…”