Abstract
The neotropical agroecosystems are important areas in the global scene in terms of livestock production. Therefore, a good conservation of their soils is crucial in order to both guarantee food safety and reduce the impact of land degradation processes. Conservation of neotropical soils used for farming activities could be obtained using veterinary medicine and adopting new grazing systems in the last decades. A wide bibliographical review was carried out which illustrates current issues in neotropical agroecosystems, the importance of their soil properties highlighting the role played by dung beetles within the edaphofauna, and the effects of the most common anti-parasitic practices as well as some natural alternatives. Finally, we present commonly adopted grazing systems and how they are affecting soil properties and animal welfare. The conversion of forest into agricultural and pasture land is altering the biochemical quality of soils. Furthermore, the use of ivermectin is dangerously reducing the total amount of dung beetles that are a key element in nutrient recycling processes. The implementation of new grazing systems (e.g., Voisin, Savory) is progressively fragmenting the habitat of many species. Nevertheless, there are also some benefits in this kind of practices and some natural alternatives to anthelmintics are being tested.
Highlights
The 68th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) agreed to declare 2015 to be the International Year of Soils recognizing the soil as the source of a wide range of essential ecosystem services [1] that must be preserved for future generations
Taking into the account the abovementioned, this work is aimed at building a multidisciplinary bibliographic review with specific emphasis on the effects that certain veterinary and animal husbandry practices have on the biophysical quality of soils in fragile agroecosystems such as the neotropical ones
They are considered as fragile ecosystems because millions of hectares have been converted from neotropical forest into agricultural or pasture lands in the last decades and abandoned as well forming secondary forests [35]. as this is part of the philosophy of promoting soil conservation by FAO [36,37]
Summary
The 68th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) agreed to declare 2015 to be the International Year of Soils recognizing the soil as the source of a wide range of essential ecosystem services [1] that must be preserved for future generations. Taking into the account the abovementioned, this work is aimed at building a multidisciplinary bibliographic review with specific emphasis on the effects that certain veterinary and animal husbandry practices have on the biophysical quality of soils in fragile agroecosystems such as the neotropical ones. They are considered as fragile ecosystems because millions of hectares have been converted from neotropical forest into agricultural or pasture lands in the last decades and abandoned as well forming secondary forests [35]. The issues addressed in this article will provide substantial information for the debate on the most efficient strategies for livestock management from the standpoint of soil properties
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