Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)

Extensive sheep production is an important agricultural industry in the Patagonia region of Argentina, where the most important production metric is the effective lambing rate of the sheep (L%). Climate factors can affect sheep production in two ways: (i) directly on the survival of the lamb, and (i...

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Autores principales:	D.A. Castillo, J.J. Gaitán, E.S. Villagra
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Effective lambing rate Ewe live weight Meadows Normalized difference vegetation index Structural equation modelling Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ad1cba671a0d41e3ac408483893de2d5
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ad1cba671a0d41e3ac408483893de2d52021-12-01T04:45:52ZDirect and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107417https://doaj.org/article/ad1cba671a0d41e3ac408483893de2d52021-05-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21000820https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XExtensive sheep production is an important agricultural industry in the Patagonia region of Argentina, where the most important production metric is the effective lambing rate of the sheep (L%). Climate factors can affect sheep production in two ways: (i) directly on the survival of the lamb, and (ii) indirectly by determining the start of the growing season, aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and the availability of forage. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between climatic variables and vegetation attributes as the major drivers of sheep productivity (ewe live weight pre-mating (ELW) and effective lambing rate (L%)), using structural equation modelling. We observed that precipitation in late autumn/winter and vegetation productivity in late spring/summer were the main drivers and were positively associated with ELW. The ELW was highly and positively correlated with L%. Additionally, the maximum temperature in late spring showed a strong direct and negative relationship with L%. These results indicated that ELW should be taken into account when modelling L%. Regional Patagonian climate change models predict, for the next century a decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperature. Thus, according to our findings, sheep production systems would be affected by a decrease in primary productivity, as well as ELW and L% since these variables are positively associated with precipitation and negatively with temperature. The use of strategic supplementation to meet nutrient requirements and protection from climatic stressors during physiologically demanding production stages of pregnancy and lactation through additional shelter and housing for the sheep could mitigate the effects of climate change by having a positive effect on L% and, therefore, on the total farm income.D.A. CastilloJ.J. GaitánE.S. VillagraElsevierarticleEffective lambing rateEwe live weightMeadowsNormalized difference vegetation indexStructural equation modellingEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 124, Iss , Pp 107417- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Effective lambing rate Ewe live weight Meadows Normalized difference vegetation index Structural equation modelling Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Effective lambing rate Ewe live weight Meadows Normalized difference vegetation index Structural equation modelling Ecology QH540-549.5 D.A. Castillo J.J. Gaitán E.S. Villagra Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)
description	Extensive sheep production is an important agricultural industry in the Patagonia region of Argentina, where the most important production metric is the effective lambing rate of the sheep (L%). Climate factors can affect sheep production in two ways: (i) directly on the survival of the lamb, and (ii) indirectly by determining the start of the growing season, aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and the availability of forage. The aim of this study was to determine the relationships between climatic variables and vegetation attributes as the major drivers of sheep productivity (ewe live weight pre-mating (ELW) and effective lambing rate (L%)), using structural equation modelling. We observed that precipitation in late autumn/winter and vegetation productivity in late spring/summer were the main drivers and were positively associated with ELW. The ELW was highly and positively correlated with L%. Additionally, the maximum temperature in late spring showed a strong direct and negative relationship with L%. These results indicated that ELW should be taken into account when modelling L%. Regional Patagonian climate change models predict, for the next century a decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperature. Thus, according to our findings, sheep production systems would be affected by a decrease in primary productivity, as well as ELW and L% since these variables are positively associated with precipitation and negatively with temperature. The use of strategic supplementation to meet nutrient requirements and protection from climatic stressors during physiologically demanding production stages of pregnancy and lactation through additional shelter and housing for the sheep could mitigate the effects of climate change by having a positive effect on L% and, therefore, on the total farm income.
format	article
author	D.A. Castillo J.J. Gaitán E.S. Villagra
author_facet	D.A. Castillo J.J. Gaitán E.S. Villagra
author_sort	D.A. Castillo
title	Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)
title_short	Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)
title_full	Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)
title_fullStr	Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)
title_full_unstemmed	Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)
title_sort	direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across patagonian rangelands (argentina)
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ad1cba671a0d41e3ac408483893de2d5
work_keys_str_mv	AT dacastillo directandindirecteffectsofclimateandvegetationonsheepproductionacrosspatagonianrangelandsargentina AT jjgaitan directandindirecteffectsofclimateandvegetationonsheepproductionacrosspatagonianrangelandsargentina AT esvillagra directandindirecteffectsofclimateandvegetationonsheepproductionacrosspatagonianrangelandsargentina
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Direct and indirect effects of climate and vegetation on sheep production across Patagonian rangelands (Argentina)

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