Enhancing forage–livestock system productivity and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions via sustainable pasture management of two Brachiaria cultivars
Débora S. M. Silva
A , Alyce Monteiro B , Bruno C. Pedreira C * , Mircéia A. Mombach D , Dalton H. Pereira A , Renato A. R. Rodrigues E and Eduardo S. Matos F
A
B
C
D
E
F
Abstract
Forage–livestock systems contribute to Brazilian greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, harming the environment and reducing bioeconomic efficiency. Employing technologies like pasture management is crucial for sustainable mitigation.
Our objective was to measure greenhouse gas emissions of beef cattle in forage systems by exploring well-managed Brachiaria hybrid pastures in the Brazilian Amazon Biome.
The experimental design was a randomised complete block, with two cultivars: Ipyporã and Mulato II, in four replicates, totalling eight experimental units, and each experimental unit was 1.5 ha.
Ipyporã pastures had 88.5% greater herbage mass than Mulato II in January (8350 vs 4430 kg dry mass ha−1). There was no difference between cultivars for soil GHG emissions. The greatest enteric methane and carbon dioxide values were measured in February. In Ipyporã pastures, the average daily gain was 57% and 50% greater than in Mulato II, in February (837 vs 533 g day−1) and March (1054 vs 700 g day−1) respectively. Enteric methane and carbon dioxide were 34% and 48% less respectively in Ipyporã pastures in February.
Soil GHG emissions in fertilised pastures followed similar patterns across different cultivars, but those with greater production tended to produce more emissions (soil and enteric) due to fertilisation and increased stocking rates.
Forage–livestock production systems benefit from adequate grazing and pasture management of two Brachiaria cultivars, resulting in greater productivity compared to GHG emissions. This leads to reduced emissions per unit of product, contributing to the development of a more efficient and sustainable forage–livestock system.
Keywords: beef cattle, Brachiaria spp., climate change, grazing, intensification, mitigation, pasture management, tropical forage.
References
Alvares CA, Stape JL, Sentelhas PC, Gonçalves JLM, Sparovek G (2013) Köppen’s climate classification map for Brazil. Meteorologische Zeitschrift 22, 711-728.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Argel PJ, Miles JW, Guiot JD, Cuadrado H, Lascano CE (2007) ‘Cultivar Mulato II (Brachiaria hybrid CIAT 36087): A high-quality forage grass, resistant to spittlebugs and adapted to well-drained, acid tropical soils.’ (International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT): Cali, Colombia) Available at https://cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a65fe31e-1cf6-47a0-bce5-5fc09a78a8f9/content
Bretas IL, Paciullo DSC, Alves BJR, Martins MR, Cardoso AS, Lima MA, Rodrigues RAR, Silva FF, Chizzotti FHM (2020) Nitrous oxide, methane, and ammonia emissions from cattle excreta on Brachiaria decumbens growing in monoculture or silvopasture with Acacia mangium and Eucalyptus grandis. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 295, 106896.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Byrnes RC, Nùñez J, Arenas L, Rao I, Trujillo C, Alvarez C, Arango J, Rasche F, Chirinda N (2017) Biological nitrification inhibition by Brachiaria grasses mitigates soil nitrous oxide emissions from bovine urine patches. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 107, 156-163.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Cardoso AS, Berndt A, Leytem A, Alves BJR, Carvalho INO, Soares LHB, Urquiaga S, Boddey RM (2016) Impact of the intensification of beef production in Brazil on greenhouse gas emissions and land use. Agricultural Systems 143, 86-96.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Carvalho P, Domiciano LF, Mombach MA, Nascimento HLB, Cabral LS, Sollenberger LE, Pereira DH, Pedreira BC (2019) Forage and animal production on palisadegrass pastures growing in monoculture or as a component of integrated crop–livestock–forestry systems. Grass and Forage Science 74, 650-660.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Congio GFS, Batalha CDA, Chiavegato MB, Berndt A, Oliveira PPA, Frighetto RTS, Maxwell TMR, Gregorini P, Da Silva SC (2018) Strategic grazing management towards sustainable intensification at tropical pasture-based dairy systems. Science of The Total Environment 636, 872-880.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Congio GFS, Bannink A, Mayorga Mogollón OL, Jaurena G, Gonda H, Gere JI, Cerón-Cucchi ME, Ortiz-Chura A, Tieri MP, Hernández O, Ricci P, Juliarena MP, Lombardi B, Abdalla AL, Abdalla-Filho AL, Berndt A, Oliveira PPA, Henrique FL, Monteiro ALG, Borges LI, Ribeiro-Filho HMN, Pereira LGR, Tomich TR, Campos MM, Machado FS, Marcondes MI, Mercadante MEZ, Sakamoto LS, Albuquerque LG, Carvalho PCF, Rossetto J, Savian JV, Rodrigues PHM, Júnior FP, Moreira TS, Maurício RM, Pacheco Rodrigues JP, Borges ALCC, Reis e Silva R, Lage HF, Reis RA, Ruggieri AC, Cardoso AS, da Silva SC, Chiavegato MB, Valadares-Filho SC, Silva FAS, Zanetti D, Berchielli TT, Messana JD, Muñoz C, Ariza-Nieto CJ, Sierra-Alarcón AM, Gualdrón-Duarte LB, Mestra-Vargas LI, Molina-Botero IC, Barahona-Rosales R, Arango J, Gaviria-Uribe X, Giraldo Valderrama LA, Rosero-Noguera JR, Posada-Ochoa SL, Abarca-Monge S, Soto-Blanco R, Ku-Vera JC, Jiménez-Ocampo R, Flores-Santiago EJ, Castelán-Ortega OA, Vázquez-Carrillo MF, Benaouda M, Gómez-Bravo CA, Bolovich VIA, Céspedes MAD, Astigarraga L, Hristov AN (2021) Enteric methane mitigation strategies for ruminant livestock systems in the Latin America and Caribbean region: a meta-analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production 312, 127693.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Conrad R (2020) Methane production in soil environments—anaerobic biogeochemistry and microbial life between flooding and desiccation. Microorganisms 8, 881.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Davies DA, Fothergill M, Morgan CT (1993) Assessment of contrasting perennial ryegrasses, with and without white clover, under continuous sheep stocking in the uplands. 5. Herbage production, quality and intake in years 4–6. Grass and Forage Science 48, 213-222.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Delevatti LM, Cardoso AS, Barbero RP, Leite RG, Romanzini EP, Ruggieri AC, Reis RA (2019) Effect of nitrogen application rate on yield, forage quality, and animal performance in a tropical pasture. Scientific Reports 9, 7596.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Euclides VPB, Montagner DB, Barbosa RA, Nantes NN (2014) Manejo do pastejo de cultivares de Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst) Stapf e de Panicum maximum Jacq. Revista Ceres 61, 808-818.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Euclides VPB, Nantes NN, Montagner DB, Araújo AR, Barbosa RA, Zimmer AH, Valle CB (2018) Beef cattle performance in response to Ipyporã and Marandu brachiariagrass cultivars under rotational stocking management. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 47, e20180018.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Gomes FJ, Pedreira BC, Santos PM, Bosi C, Pedreira CGS (2020) Shading effects on canopy and tillering characteristics of continuously stocked palisadegrass in a silvopastoral system in the Amazon biome. Grass and Forage Science 75, 279-290.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Gomes FJ, Cavalli J, Pedreira BC, Pedreira CGS, Holschuch SG, Pereira DH (2022) Forage nutritive value of Marandu palisade grass under clipping in a silvopastoral system. Agroforestry Systems 96, 79-88.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Hammond KJ, Humphries DJ, Crompton LA, Green C, Reynolds CK (2015) Methane emissions from cattle: estimates from short-term measurements using a GreenFeed system compared with measurements obtained using respiration chambers or sulphur hexafluoride tracer. Animal Feed Science and Technology 203, 41-52.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Hammond KJ, Waghorn GC, Hegarty RS (2016) The GreenFeed system for measurement of enteric methane emission from cattle. Animal Production Science 56, 181-189.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Hörtnagl L, Barthel M, Buchmann N, Eugster W, Butterbach-Bahl K, Díaz-Pinés E, Zeeman M, Klumpp K, Kiese R, Bahn M, Hammerle A, Lu H, Ladreiter-Knauss T, Burri S, Merbold L (2018) Greenhouse gas fluxes over managed grasslands in Central Europe. Global Change Biology 24, 1843-1872.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Huhtanen P, Cabezas-Garcia EH, Utsumi S, Zimmerman S (2015) Comparison of methods to determine methane emissions from dairy cows in farm conditions. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 3394-3409.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Jantalia CP, dos Santos HP, Urquiaga S, Boddey RM, Alves BJR (2008) Fluxes of nitrous oxide from soil under different crop rotations and tillage systems in the south of Brazil. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 82, 161-173.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Jonker A, Molano G, Antwi C, Waghorn GC (2016) Enteric methane and carbon dioxide emissions measured using respiration chambers, the sulfur hexafluoride tracer technique, and a Greenfeed head-chamber system from beef heifers fed alfalfa silage at three allowances and four feeding frequencies. Journal of Animal Science 94, 4326-4337.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Klingman DL, Miles SR, Mott GO (1943) The cage method for determining consumption and yield of pasture herbage. Journal of the American Society of Agronomy 35, 739-746.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Mombach MA, Carvalho P, Cabral LS, Rodrigues RAR, Torres RC, Pereira DH, Pedreira BC (2018) Attractants for automated emission measurement (Greenfeed®) in pasture-based systems. Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia 47, 11-14.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Monteiro A, Barreto-Mendes L, Fanchone A, Morgavi DP, Pedreira BC, Magalhães CAS, Abdalla AL, Eugène M (2024) Crop-livestock-forestry systems as a strategy for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the sustainability of forage-based livestock systems in the Amazon biome. Science of The Total Environment 906, 167396.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Nascimento AF, Oliveira CM, Pedreira BC, Pereira DH, Rodrigues RRA (2021) Nitrous oxide emissions and forage accumulation in the Brazilian Amazon forage-livestock systems submitted to N input strategies. Grassland Science 67, 63-72.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Paraiso IGN, Silva DSM, Carvalho APS, Sollenberger LE, Pereira DH, Euclides VPB, Pedreira BC (2019) Herbage accumulation, nutritive value, and organic reserves of continuously stocked ‘Ipyporã’ and ‘Mulato II’ brachiariagrasses. Crop Science 59, 2903-2914.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Pequeno DNL, Pedreira CGS, Sollenberger LE, Faria AFG, Silva LS (2015) Forage accumulation and nutritive value of Brachiariagrasses and Tifton 85 Bermudagrass as affected by harvest frequency and irrigation. Agronomy Journal 107, 1741-1749.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Petersen RG, Lucas HL (1968) Computing methods for the evaluation of pastures by means of animal response. Agronomy Journal 60, 682-687.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Petersen RG, Lucas HL, Mott GO (1965) Relationship between rate of stocking and per animal and per acre performance on pasture. Agronomy Journal 57, 27-30.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Robertson GP, Groffman PM (2015) Nitrogen transformations. In ‘Soil microbiology, ecology, and biochemistry’. (Ed. EA Paul) pp. 421–446. (Academic Press: Massachusetts, USA) doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-415955-6.00014-1
Savian JV, Neto AB, David DB, Bremm C, Schons RMT, Genro TCM, Amaral GA, Gere J, McManus CM, Bayer C, Carvalho PCF (2014) Grazing intensity and stocking methods on animal production and methane emission by grazing sheep: implications for integrated crop–livestock system. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 190, 112-119.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Segnini A, Augusto A, Xavier P, Otaviani-Junior PL, Oliveira PPA, Pedroso AF, Praes MFFM, Rodrigues PHM, Milori DMB (2019) Soil carbon stock and humification in pastures under different levels of intensification in Brazil. Scientia Agriola 76, 33-40.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Shcherbak I, Millar N, Robertson GP (2014) Global metaanalysis of the nonlinear response of soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions to fertilizer nitrogen. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111, 9199-9204.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Silva RO, Barioni LG, Hall JAJ, Matsuura MF, Albertini TZ, Fernandes FA, Moran D (2016) Increasing beef production could lower greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil if decoupled from deforestation. Nature Climate Change 6, 493-497.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Silva FS, Domiciano LF, Gomes FJ, Sollenberger LE, Pedreira CGS, Pereira DH, Pedreira BC (2020) Herbage accumulation, nutritive value and beef cattle production on marandu palisadegrass pastures in integrated systems. Agroforestry Systems 94, 1891-1902.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Simon PL, Dieckow J, Zanatta JA, Ramalho B, Ribeiro RH, van der Weerden T, Klein CAM (2020) Does Brachiaria humidicola and dicyandiamide reduce nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions from cattle urine patches in the subtropics? Science of The Total Environment 720, 137692.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Snyder CS, Bruulsema TW, Jensen TL, Fixen PE (2009) Review of greenhouse gas emissions from crop production systems and fertilizer management effects. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 133, 247-266.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Soil Division Staff (2017) ‘Soil survey manual.’ (Eds C Ditzler, K Scheffe, HC Monger) (Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, USA) doi:10.1097/00010694-195112000-00022
Sollenberger LE, Moore JE, Allen VG, Pedreira CGS (2005) Reporting forage allowance in grazing experiments. Crop Science 45, 896-900.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Subbarao GV, Rondon M, Ito O, Ishikawa T, Rao IM, Nakahara K, Lascano C, Berry WL (2007) Biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) – Is it a widespread phenomenon? Plant and Soil 294, 5-18.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Subbarao GV, Nakahara K, Hurtado MP, Ono H, Moreta DE, Salcedo AF, Yoshihashi AT, Ishikawa T, Ishitani M, Ohnishi-Kameyama M, Yoshida M, Rondon M, Rao IM, Lascano CE, Berry WL, Ito O (2009) Evidence for biological nitrification inhibition in Brachiaria pastures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106, 17302-17307.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Subbarao GV, Sahrawat KL, Nakahara K, Ishikawa T, Kishii M, Rao IM, Hash CT, George TS, Srinivasa Rao P, Nardi P, Bonnett D, Berry W, Suenaga K, Lata JC (2012) Biological nitrification inhibition—a novel strategy to regulate nitrification in agricultural systems. Advances in Agronomy 114, 249-302.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Valle CB, Euclides VPB, Montagner DB, Valério JR, Mendes-Bonato AB, Verzignassi JR, Torres FZV, Macedo MCM, Fernandes CD, Barrios SCL, Dias-Filho MB, Machado LAZ, Zimmer AH (2017) ‘BRS Ipyporã (“belo começo” in guarani): híbrido de Brachiaria da Embrapa’. (Ministério de Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento: Brasília) [In Portuguese, with English abstract]
Van Soest PJ, Robertson JB, Lewis BA (1991) Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583-3597.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
Wolfinger R (1993) Covariance structure selection in general mixed models. Communications in Statistics - Simulation and Computation 22, 1079-1106.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |
Zubieta ÁS, Savian JV, de Souza Filho W, Wallau MO, Gómez AM, Bindelle J, Bonnet OJF, de Faccio Carvalho PC (2021) Does grazing management provide opportunities to mitigate methane emissions by ruminants in pastoral ecosystems? Science of The Total Environment 754, 142029.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |
