Silvopastoral system is an alternative to improve animal welfare and productive performance in meat production systems

Amanda Prudêncio Lemes,Alexandre Rossetto Garcia,Reinaldo Fernandes Cooke,Claudia Cristina Paro De Paz,Felipe Zandonadi Brandão,Lindsay Unno Gimenes,Mario Binelli,Mariana Sponchiado,José Ricardo Macedo Pezzopane,Annelise Carla Camplesi,Yeda Fumie Watanabe

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-93609-7

Abstract

Climate change is a reality and global surface temperature is projected to rise substantially in the next 80 years. Agriculture practices will have to adapt to climate change, and also help to mitigate this effect using, among other strategies, forest conservation and management. Silvopastoral systems have been adopted in tropical climate livestock areas but their benefits on thermal comfort and reproductive performance of beef cows are not completely known. Therefore, our aims were to compare the microclimate of silvopastoral and intensive rotational unshaded grazing systems in different months and to evaluate physiological variables (Exp. 1 and 2), metabolism, and in vitro embryo production (Exp. 2) in crossbred beef females. Our hypothesis is that the silvopastoral system can improve the thermal comfort of beef heifers and cows and, consequently, also improve dry matter intake, body weight gain, and in vitro embryo production when compared to the unshaded rotational grazing system. In Exp 1, the silvopastoral system decreased body temperature and increased welfare and performance of heifers. In Exp. 2, the silvopastoral system enhanced the body weight but did not affect metabolism and the general reproductive performance, but increased the recovery rate of oocytes in primiparous cows.

Highlights

Climate change is a reality and global surface temperature is projected to rise substantially in the 80 years
The basic hypothesis is that the silvopastoral system can improve the thermal comfort of beef heifers and cows and, improve dry matter intake, body weight gain, and in vitro embryo production when compared to the unshaded rotational grazing system
Benefits of using integrated production systems are often recorded in agronomic studies[6]; their direct effects on thermal stress mitigation, productive and reproductive performance of bovine females are not elucidated

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is a reality and global surface temperature is projected to rise substantially in the 80 years. Silvopastoral systems have been adopted in tropical climate livestock areas but their benefits on thermal comfort and reproductive performance of beef cows are not completely known. Some benefits in the production of cattle managed in areas that integrate grasses and arboreal components have been reported[7], emphasizing the role of shade provided by trees as an efficient component that increases comfort and animal welfare[8]. Under thermal comfort, both d airy[9] and beef cattle[10] achieve greater productivity. Thermal stress has negative effects on oocyte quality, resulting in lower rates of in vitro embryo production in Bos t aurus[12,14,15]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion