Managing grazing animals to achieve nutrient cycling and soil improvement in no-till integrated systems

Abstract

Crop-livestock systems are regaining their importance as an alternative to unsustainable intensive farming systems. Loss of biodiversity, nutrient pollution and habitat fragmentation are a few of many concerns recently reported with modern agriculture. Integrating crops and pastures in no-till systems can result in better environmental services, since conservation agriculture is improved by system diversity, paths of nutrient flux, and other processes common in nature. The presence of large herbivores can positively modify nutrient pathways and soil aggregation, increasing soil quality. Despite the low diversity involved, the integration of crops and pastures enhances nature's biomimicry and allows attainment of a higher system organization level. This paper illustrates these benefits focusing on the use of grazing animals integrated with crops under no-tillage systems characteristic of southern Brazil.

A Qualitative Evaluation of CSA Options in Mixed Crop-Livestock Systems in Developing Countries

“…Precipitation can also exacerbate the effect of livestock grazing on compaction during heavy rainfall events (Ghosh et al 2006). Additionally, stocking intensity must be managed in such a way that sufficient crop residue is returned to the soil to maintain nutrient cycling and soil physical quality (de Faccio Carvalho et al 2010). The ways in which different soil management interventions interact at the systems level in helping to meet food security objectives remain to be elucidated (Hurni et al 2015).…”

Produtividade de grãos de milho e massa seca de braquiárias em consórcio no sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária

“…Outras formas de ILP com pastagens anuais de inverno, em cultivo exclusivo ou em consórcio de gramíneas e leguminosas, têm sido estudadas na região Sul do Brasil (FONTANELI et al, 2006;SILVA et al, 2007;LUNARDI et al, 2008;CARVALHO et al, 2010), com resultados favoráveis principalmente em relação ao aumento da produtividade de grãos de milho e soja sobre os resíduos das pastagens após a dessecação, conforme revisão de BALBINOT JÚNIOR et al (2009).…”

Social and ecological analysis of commercial integrated crop livestock systems: Current knowledge and remaining uncertainty

“…Land-based livestock integration enhances C-, N-, P-, and S-cycling (Acosta-Martínez et al, 2010;Archer and Smeins, 1991;Drinkwater et al, 1998;Soussana and Lemaire, 2014), but the impacts on carbon and nutrient accumulation remain strongly influenced by co-management factors such as N and P fertilization, tillage methods, rotation length and grazing intensity (de Faccio Carvalho et al, 2010;de Lima Wesp et al, 2016;Savian et al, 2014). SOC is usually highest under high N fertilization combined with no-till planting (Lal, 2004(Lal, , 2011Mazzoncini et al, 2011).…”

“…SOC is usually highest under high N fertilization combined with no-till planting (Lal, 2004(Lal, , 2011Mazzoncini et al, 2011). Benefits of grazing can decline or even reverse at high stocking rates (de Faccio Carvalho et al, 2010;Drinkwater et al, 1998) when N and P levels become undesirably high and heterogeneous, resulting in potentially higher N and P runoff if fertilizer applications are not managed accordingly (Russelle et al, 2007;Snow et al, 2014). However, if carefully managed, integrated fertilization strategies which account for N and P credit from manure can help reduce losses (Rotz et al, 2009) and N addition on a grazed forage can eliminate the need for N applications on a subsequent grain crop while maintaining yields (Assmann et al, 2003;Sandini et al, 2011).…”