Environmental Conditions in a Temperate Weather Silvopastoral System vs. Natural Grassland and their Impact on Animal Beef Production

SM Huertas*, PE Bobadilla, HJ Bueno, D Cesar, JM Piaggio and AD Gil

Received: March 12, 2018;   Published: March 26, 2018

DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2018.03.000885

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Abstract

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant production some claim that the solution is to decrease the number of beef cattle. By 2050 the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion which means that we will need more food. To increase the productivity per hectare some mixed production models like silvopastoral systems which integrate forestry plantations with extensive beef production have become common. The aim is to characterize silvopastoral systems (SPS) in temperate climate evaluating some environmental conditions and comparing them to traditional natural grassland (NG) beef farming in the south of Uruguay. Preliminary results showed that SPS; generated a microclimate, had higher quality pastures, provided protection against solar radiation and strong winds for animals, mainly due to the forest component. Furthermore, animals in SPS dedicated more time grazing in summer than the animals in NG systems. Considering these results SPS appear to be non-inferior in productivity and Animal Welfare to the natural grassland based beef production. In addition SPS allow; greater stability in production (fewer economical risks), and income diversification. All of which results in an increase in the total profitability of the farm.

Keywords: Silvopastoral Systems; Natural Grassland; Animal Welfare

Abbreviations: SPS: Silvo-Pastoral Systems; NG: Natural Grassland; SPS: Silvo-Pastoral System; THI: Temperatures and Humidity Index

Abstract| Introduction| Methods| Results and Discussion| Conclusion| Acknowledgement| References|