Ruminal defaunation and greenhouse gas mitigation with tree forage crops in the Amazon

Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of forages Gliricidia sepium (T1), Leucaena leucocephala (T2)), Moringa oleifera (T3), Morus alba (T4), Tithonia diversifolia (T5) on rumen function. For each treatment, the nutritional quality, digestion, rumen degradability, CH 4 gas production, CO2, holotric and entodinomorphic protozoa were analyzed. It was found in T4 greater digestibility of DM (P = 0.0002) and MO (P˂0.0001). The degradability of DM in the soluble fraction was higher (P<0.0001) in T4 and T5, as well as in the potential for degradation and effective degradability. Gas production was lower (P=0.0009) in T1, T3 and T5 with 249.6, 232.1 and 257.2 m L gas/0.5 g DM respectively, the lowest production of CH 4 (P=0.0049) was for T4 with 52.4 mL CH4/0.5 g DM and for CO2 no significant differences were found (P>0.05). The count of holotric protozoa at 6 h was lower (P = 0.0206) in T3 and in Entodinomorphs in T3 and T4 (P = 0.0082), at 12 and 24 h no significant differences were observed (P>0.05). The efficiency in rumen function found in T4 and T5 were influenced by the levels of FDN and FAD.