Silvopastoral systems to increase milk productivity and mitigate GHG emissions in the southern Amazon

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Dairy farming in the country is practiced in all biomes, consisting of an important production chain in Brazil. In the state of Mato Grosso, the activity is among the most important for small and medium-sized producers, practiced in all municipalities in the state. Milk production in Mato Grosso presents challenges, especially in the north of the state, characterized mainly by high temperatures and humidity. In this sense, silvopastoral systems (SSPs) for milk production emerge as a strategy to promote increased productivity in relation to traditional systems in the region. The SSPs consist of a modality of integrated systems, ICLF, which combine, in the same area, forages, trees and animals, having potentialities that must be validated through studies for each specificity. Thermal comfort for the animals is one of the main advantages of the SSPs, which allows the integration of animals from crossbreeds with greater dairy ability, which, in general, suffer more from high temperatures because they have a darker coat. In addition, SSPs have a high potential for carbon sequestration, especially in tree biomass, which is why they are considered mitigating systems for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.Preliminary results from the 2016 to 2019 cycle in the ILPF Leite experiment, object of this proposal, indicate that integrated systems promote benefits, increasing milk productivity per animal unit, mainly by reducing the stress of high temperatures registered in Mato Grosso. However, research is needed in order to evaluate the effects of shading on forage productivity and, consequently, on the support capacity of the system. This proposal therefore seeks to add information to this analysis, testing and refining the ILPF strategy for arrangements and management to optimize system gains. Thus, the objective of this work is to identify silvopastoral systems for increasing productivity and mitigating GHG emissions in southern Amazonia.The study will be carried out at Embrapa Agrossilvipastoril, Sinop, MT, in an experiment that had its installation, with tree planting, in 2011, and underwent interventions in 2019 for management of the tree component with a view to valuing the system's wood. In the SSPs, 4 treatments will be evaluated: 1) double rows of eucalyptus at a density of 260 trees/ha planted on the edges of the pasture; 2) double rows of eucalyptus at a density of 130 trees/ha planted on the edges of the pasture; 3) triple rows of eucalyptus spaced 15 m apart at a density of 340 trees/ha within the pasture; 4) single rows of eucalyptus spaced at 21 m at a density of 120 trees/ha within the pasture. The design will be randomized complete blocks with four replications. In addition, considering that finding forage plants with good productivity and adapted to SSPs is a great challenge, the present proposal will test a material still little studied when subjected to an environment with light restrictions, the Ipyporã grass (Urochloa brizantha x Urochloa ruziziensis ), results that can also support studies to validate this hybrid in production systems in other biomes and environments in the country. In the end, the GHG mitigation capacity of the systems will be presented in kg GHG/kg of milk, which will help to identify which system emits less per kg of milk. This agricultural process will be generated with the validation and adjustments of SSPs adapted to the edaphoclimatic conditions of the southern Amazon that reconcile productivity and mitigation of GHG emissions. (Google translation)

Status: Completed Start date: Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2020 Conclusion date: Fri Mar 31 00:00:00 GMT-03:00 2023

Head Unit: Embrapa Agrosilvopastoral

Project leader: Alexandre Ferreira do Nascimento

Contact: alexandre.nascimento@embrapa.br