Increase in Milk Yield from Cows through Improvement of Forage Production Using the N2-Fixing Legume Leucaena leucocephala in a Silvopastoral System

Sarabia-Salgado, Lucero; Solorio‐Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Ramírez-Avilés, Luis; Alves, Bruno José Rodrigues; Kú-Vera, Juan Carlos; Aguilar-Pérez, Carlos Fernando; Caballero, Segundo Sacramento Urquiaga; Boddey, Robert M.

doi:10.3390/ani10040734

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Results on chemical composition differ from those found by other authors, who suggested a higher nutritional quality in the ISPS due to the effects of shade and nitrogen fixed by tree legumes [14,23,68,69]. Shelton and Dalzell (2007) [70] reported that leucaena forage contains 20% crude protein, is highly digestible, and provides a consistently highquality diet throughout the year.…”

Section: Dry Matter Yield and Chemical Composition Of Pasturecontrasting

confidence: 76%

“…ISPSs provide environmental services such as erosion control, watershed protection, carbon sequestration (27-163% more than monoculture systems, MS), reductions in methane emissions, atmospheric nitrogen fixation, reductions in biodiversity loss, and modifications of the microclimate improving animal welfare [13,15,[18][19][20][21]. Overall, ISPSs have been reported to be more productive at animal (e.g., higher milk and beef yield) and pasture levels (32% higher dry matter production [22]) per unit of area compared with conventional or monoculture livestock systems [15,[22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intensive Silvopastoral Systems Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Cattle

Flores-Coello,

Hernández-Medrano,

Ku-Vera

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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Assessments of the efficiency of grazing systems, in terms of productivity and ecological sustainability, are necessary in view of the increased demand for animal protein. In this study, the methane (CH4) emissions (sniffer methodology), dry matter (DM) yield, paddock chemical composition (AOAC and Van Soest methods), nutrient intake (dry matter, DMI; crude protein, CPI; metabolizable energy, MEI), daily milk yield (DMY), body condition score (BCS), and body weight (BW) of cattle, in intensive silvopastoral systems (ISPSs) and monoculture systems (MSs), in the tropics of Mexico were evaluated. In the ISPS, CH4 emissions (18% less) and DMY were lower than in the MS. Cows from MSs tend to disperse across higher values of CH4 emissions per kg of DMI, as well as higher milk production, while cows from the ISPS were dispersed over a higher intake (DMI, CPI, and MEI) and lower CH4 emissions. There were no differences between systems in paddock DM yield, chemical composition, cows’ BCS, and BW, regardless of whether it was the dry (April to May) and rainy (September to October) season. Based on the results obtained in this study, ISPSs contribute to the mitigation of methane emissions in cattle; forage and animal production variables in both systems were similar, with a lower use of imported inputs in the ISPS.

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Section: Dry Matter Yield and Chemical Composition Of Pasturecontrasting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intensive Silvopastoral Systems Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Cattle

Flores-Coello,

Hernández-Medrano,

Ku-Vera

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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“…In tropical and subtropical conditions, legumes such as Desmodium ovalifolium, Leucaena leucocephala, Centrosema pubescens, Stylosanthes guianensis, Cajanus cajan, among others, can fix between 120 and 150 kg N/ha/yr. For SPS with Leucaena leucocephala planted in rows in Australia, nitrogen fixation rates range between 36 and 61.9 kg/ha/y (Radrizzani et al, 2011;Conrad et al, 2018) while for an iSPS with high density of L. leucocephala in Mexico ranged between 77.1 and 80 kg N/ha over a period of 100 days (Sarabia-Salgado et al, 2020). This fixed N becomes available slowly over time to the grass in pastures after its release into soil via exudates from living legume roots, by mineralization of senesced legume tissues and in excreta after consumption by grazing animals (Ledgard et al, 2009), generating lower losses of N that can be converted into N 2 O (Schmeer et al, 2014).…”

Section: Legumes As An Alternative To N Fertilizermentioning

confidence: 99%

CH4 and N2O Emissions From Cattle Excreta: A Review of Main Drivers and Mitigation Strategies in Grazing Systems

Rivera

Chará

2021

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Cattle production systems are an important source of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted to the atmosphere. Animal manure and managed soils are the most important sources of emissions from livestock after enteric methane. It is estimated that the N2O and CH4 produced in grasslands and manure management systems can contribute up to 25% of the emissions generated at the farm level, and therefore it is important to identify strategies to reduce the fluxes of these gases, especially in grazing systems where mitigation strategies have received less attention. This review describes the main factors that affect the emission of GHG from manure in bovine systems and the main strategies for their mitigation with emphasis on grazing production systems. The emissions of N2O and CH4 are highly variable and depend on multiple factors, which makes it difficult to use strategies that mitigate both gases simultaneously. We found that strategies such as the optimization of the diet, the implementation of silvopastoral systems and other practices with the capacity to improve soil quality and cover, and the use of nitrogen fixing plants are among the practices with more potential to reduce emissions from manure and at the same time contribute to increase carbon capture and improve food production. These strategies can be implemented to reduce the emissions of both gases and, depending on the method used and the production system, the reductions can reach up to 50% of CH4 or N2O emissions from manure according to different studies. However, many research gaps should be addressed in order to obtain such reductions at a larger scale.

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“…Silvopastoral systems, proposed by all initiatives, intrinsically contribute to circularity, as the whole system is based on taking advantage of the internal nutrient recycling processes occurring between trees, shrubs, pastures, and animals to minimize the use of external inputs [41,49]. For instance, in silvopastoral systems, nitrogen-fixing shrubs such as Leucaena leucocephala can fix atmospheric nitrogen at rates ranging from 77 kg ha -1 to 250 kg ha-1 [50,51]. Phosphorus, a limiting mineral in most acidic tropical soils due to Al and Fe immobilization can be solubilized and made available for plant uptake when the mycorrhiza and microbiota related to specific trees and shrubs are planted in high densities [52].…”

Section: Input Circularity-fertilizersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sustainable transformation of the Colombian cattle sector: Assessing its circularity

et al. 2022

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Circular food systems are increasingly acknowledged for their potential to contribute to the transition towards sustainable futures. In a circular food system, the use of finite and limited resources is minimized, and nutrients in residual streams and inedible biomass for humans are reused as inputs in the bioeconomy. Livestock has become relevant in this narrative for upcycling nutrients contained in food by-products and grass resources into nutritious food for humans without using human-edible resources. Evaluating on-going national sustainability initiatives in the livestock sector is key to determine if circularity elements are already represented and to identify new opportunities and pathways for the future. In this paper we synthetize the environmental actions promoted by different initiatives driving the sustainable transformation of Colombian cattle production systems and assess the inclusion of circularity elements in these actions. The proposed environmental actions were concentrated in the conservation of remaining natural ecosystems, zero-deforestation and the sustainable intensification of cattle production through silvopastoral and paddock rotational systems. Circularity was addressed by some initiatives via the use organic fertilizers and the use of manure as fertilizers or feedstock for bioenergy generation. However, given that cattle farming is often practiced in low-input systems where the collection of by-products for reutilization (e.g., manure) is not always feasible, these actions are expected to have limited impact in the sector. Silvopastoral systems can positively promote circularity by creating the conditions for internal nutrient recycling via litterfall, biological nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and presence of beneficial insects. However, to avoid food-feed competition and to remain circular, these should only be installed in agricultural areas unsuitable for crop production. In areas where crops can grow, other production systems that prioritize the production of plant biomass for human consumption (i.e., agrosilvopastoral systems, mixed crop-livestock systems or forms of crop intercropping) should be considered.

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Increase in Milk Yield from Cows through Improvement of Forage Production Using the N2-Fixing Legume Leucaena leucocephala in a Silvopastoral System

Cited by 14 publications

References 34 publications

Intensive Silvopastoral Systems Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Cattle

Intensive Silvopastoral Systems Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Cattle

CH4 and N2O Emissions From Cattle Excreta: A Review of Main Drivers and Mitigation Strategies in Grazing Systems

The sustainable transformation of the Colombian cattle sector: Assessing its circularity

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