The integration of cattle grazing activities as potential best sustainable practices for weeding operations in oil palm plantations.

Abstract

Oil palm agriculture depends heavily on the use of herbicides to preserve crop output against competing weeds. Rising concerns about the impact of herbicides and carbon emissions on biodiversity and ecosystems require an urgent transformation in weed management. The 45% increase in global oil palm production area has resulted in increased agrochemical inputs in oil palm producing countries. Currently, estimated herbicide usage in Malaysia is reported to have increased by 18%. In fact, the use of herbicides may destroy understory vegetation that serves as critical habitat for certain species that are essential for the biodiversity of the oil palm. Hence, without any effort for innovation and sustainable weeding practices, this may lead to excessive use of herbicides, which reduce microbial activity, alter soil organic matter, and consequently influence soil CO2 emissions. The integrated cattle grazing system in oil palm plantations can be seen as a land-sharing method. Potentially, the livestock integration can improve productivity of the land while minimizing the impact of pollution and resource degradation. So, any reduction in the use of herbicides should be balanced by innovative, sustainable weed control methods such as the integration of cattle grazing. This will help reduce pollution, restore soil carbon (C) sequestration, and protect the oil palm ecosystem’s biodiversity. This review demonstrates that modern livestock systems can be redesigned to better exploit cattle and buffaloes’ ecological niches as sustainable best practices to regenerate oil palm plantation landscapes and contribute to faunal conservation initiatives in Malaysia’s oil palm plantation ecosystem.