Livestock integration into soybean systems improves long-term system stability and profits without compromising crop yields

Abstract Climate models project greater weather variability over the coming decades. High yielding systems that can maintain stable crop yields under variable environmental scenarios are critical to enhance food security. However, the effect of adding a trophic level (i.e. herbivores) on the long-te...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Pedro Arthur de Albuquerque Nunes, Emilio Andrés Laca, Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho, Meng Li, William de Souza Filho, Taise Robinson Kunrath, Amanda Posselt Martins, Amélie Gaudin
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/a02fb46297bd40bc861b4513836a8726
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract Climate models project greater weather variability over the coming decades. High yielding systems that can maintain stable crop yields under variable environmental scenarios are critical to enhance food security. However, the effect of adding a trophic level (i.e. herbivores) on the long-term stability of agricultural systems is not well understood. We used a 16-year dataset from an integrated soybean-beef cattle experiment to measure the impacts of grazing on the stability of key crop, pasture, animal and whole-system outcomes. Treatments consisted of four grazing intensities (10, 20, 30 and 40 cm sward height) on mixed black oat (Avena strigosa) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) pastures and an ungrazed control. Stability of both human-digestible protein production and profitability increased at moderate to light grazing intensities, while over-intensification or absence of grazing decreased system stability. Grazing did not affect subsequent soybean yields but reduced the chance of crop failure and financial loss in unfavorable years. At both lighter and heavier grazing intensities, tradeoffs occurred between the stability of herbage production and animal live weight gains. We show that ecological intensification of specialized soybean systems using livestock integration can increase system stability and profitability, but the probability of win–win outcomes depends on management.