Chapter 4 - Reconciling the design of livestock production systems and the preservation of ecosystems

Abstract

Livestock production makes a significant contribution to food security through meat and milk production. According to future demands, livestock's systems need to be environmentally sustainable, at least neutral in relation to climate change with biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation. Future sustainability of these systems will depend on improving productivity and efficiency so more meat and milk can be produced using fewer resources, Rio de la Plata grasslands (located between 28°S and 38°S) comprise more than 500.000 km2, including all of Uruguay, central-eastern Argentina and southern Brazil and being these grasslands a hotspot of biodiversity and are reported to store an estimated 5% of the total soil carbon stock of the subcontinent. Livestock production in this region relies on native grasslands as the main source of animal nutrition. These farming systems are unique, and needed to be preserved since they produce beef, sheep meat, wool, and leather with negligible levels of chemical fertilizers, fossil fuel energy or pesticides. Key factors in the preservation of this production system are the analysis of carbon accounting in the design of livestock systems, minimizing water uses and nutrient losses, implement proper systems management and strategies of the conservation of the ecosystem, and the reduction of the negative impacts of incorporating external supplies. To achieve this, it is relevant to measure, monitor, and evaluate, with robust information and modern tools, the impact of management decisions on the productive and environmental outcomes of the system considering its trade-off, and using them to support system design.