Abstract
Assessing the palatability of forage from locally adapted trees could improve the sustainability of livestock production systems. However, grasses continue to dominate livestock feed across the Amazon. We established a silvopastoral cattle farming system in Peru, comparing three different forage tree species with grass monocultures using a randomised block design. Trees were arranged in alleys of 0.5 × 7.5 m, planted alongside grass, and were directly browsed by cattle. Browse removal was estimated by three methods: destructive sampling, canopy measurements and leaf counts. We found that all three tree species were palatable to cattle. Plots containing trees and grass produced more available forage (mean > 2.2 Mg ha-1) for cattle than the grass monocultures (mean = 1.5 Mg ha-1). Destructive sampling below 1.6 m demonstrated that cattle consumed 99% of the available Erythrina berteroana forage, 75% of the available Inga edulis forage and 80% of the available Leucaena leucocephala forage in 8 days. This research demonstrates methodologies to estimate the intake of locally adapted browse species by cattle and highlights the potential benefits of silvopastoral systems in the Amazon. Planting trees could also benefit animal health and provide ecosystem services such as soil regeneration, enhanced nutrient cycling and carbon capture.
Highlights
Natural forests and grasslands are declining due to human activities such as deforestation and urbanisation, an increased frequency of drought, fire and flooding, and changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations [1]
The weight of dry foliar biomass harvested destructively below 1.6 m decreased for all species when compared prior to and post the browsing trial
When total foliar biomass was considered, there was a reduction in total foliar biomass of E. berteroana of 92% (p < 0.01), 30% for I. edulis (p < 0.05) and an increase of 20% for L. leucocephala (p < 0.01)
Summary
Natural forests and grasslands are declining due to human activities such as deforestation and urbanisation, an increased frequency of drought, fire and flooding, and changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations [1]. More studies are needed to assess how direct browsing of trees and shrubs in extensive livestock systems can enhance sustainable production. There is increased impetus to evaluate novel tree species that can contribute to resilient livestock production systems that both adapt to and mitigate climatic change and prevent further losses in biodiversity and forest cover [6]. The benefits of trees in pastures can include enhanced soil nutrient cycling and soil formation, increased rate of recovery of compacted soils, reduction in water and nutrient runoff and soil erosion, additional habitat to support biodiversity, mitigation of climate change via carbon sequestration and increased ecological connectivity [7,8,9,10]. Heat stress in livestock has been associated with decreased feed intake and negative effects on production, reproductive health, milk yields, fitness and longevity [11,12,13,14]
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