Understanding intensified and integrated production systems: from the quantum world to low-carbon agriculture

• Grant number: 23/02444-5
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Ladislau Martin Neto
• Grantee: Ladislau Martin Neto
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Carlos
• Principal investigators: Carlos Alexandre Costa Crusciol ; José Ricardo Macedo Pezzopane ; Paulo Henrique Mazza Rodrigues
• Associated researchers: Alberto Carlos de Campos Bernardi ; Aleksandar Ivaylov Goranov ; Alexandre Rossetto Garcia ; Ana Rita de Araujo Nogueira ; Carlos Manoel Pedro Vaz ; Carlos Renato Menegatti ; Cristiano Alberto de Andrade ; Débora Marcondes Bastos Pereira ; Debora Pignatari Drucker ; Edemar Moro ; Eoin Brodie ; Fábio Ribeiro Pires ; Francisco Eduardo Gontijo Guimaraes ; Heloisa Ferreira Filizola ; Ieda de Carvalho Mendes ; Ignacio Fernando Lopez Campbell ; José Ricardo Macedo Pezzopane ; Juliano Carlos Calonego ; Luís Gustavo Barioni ; Luiz Alberto Colnago ; Luiz Fernando Carvalho Leite ; Marcel Okamoto Tanaka ; Mariangela Hungria da Cunha ; Miguel Cooper ; Nilza Patrícia Ramos ; Patrícia Perondi Anchão Oliveira ; Patrick G. Hatcher ; Paulino Ribeiro Villas Boas ; Rodrigo Mendes ; Sandra Aparecida Santos ; Sandra Furlan Nogueira ; Silvio Crestana ; Steffen A. Schweizer ; Vandoir Bourscheidt ; Wilson Tadeu Lopes da Silva
• Associated research grant(s): 25/16415-2 - Spatial variability of compaction, soil carbon, and biomass as an indicator of the quality of long-term intercropped pastoral systems, AV.BR; 24/06605-6 - EMU grants process 2023/02444-5: portable trace gas analyzer (CH4, CO2 and N2O), AP.EMU; 23/18440-9 - Understanding intensified and integrated production systems: from the quantum world to low-carbon agriculture, AP.EMU
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/09663-0 - Development of mathematical models to estimate enteric methane emissions in beef cattle raised in southeastern Brazil, BP.DR; 25/10013-0 - INDICATORS TO ASSESS SUSTAINABILITY IN REGENERATIVE AGRI-FOOD PRODUCTION SYSTEMS UNDER CLIMATE-SMART PRACTICES: A CLASSICAL AND MACHINE LEARNING MODELING APPROACH., BP.PD; 25/06887-4 - Soil quality in integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems and intensive grazing systems, BP.PD; + associated scholarships 25/08128-3 - Management of crop-livestock-forest integration systems and intensive systems for sustainable production., BP.TT; 24/15908-2 - CARBON (C) SATURATION, MODELING, AND FERTILITY IN TROPICAL SOILS: A NATIONAL APPROACH., BP.PD; 24/23281-0 - Soil Enzymes: Evaluation as an Indicator of Soil Carbon Accumulation in Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest Systems, BP.IC; 24/14266-7 - Impacts of Intensified and Integrated Systems on C Stock, Dynamics and Structure of Soil Organic Matter: Assessments with Spectroscopies and Microscopy., BP.PD; 24/05207-7 - Quantitative analysis of nitrogen and sulfur through lines and bands of molecular emission with the LIBS technique., BP.IC; 24/07608-9 - Management of crop-livestock-forest integration systems and intensive systems for sustainable production., BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

This proposal focuses on Brazilian agriculture potential to greenhouse gas emissions reduction and carbon sequestration, with emphasis in integrated production systems and sustainable management practices. To achieve this goal, two long-term field experiments of integrated crop-livestock-forest systems will be utilized. These experiments are pioneers in the state of São Paulo and have been in operation for more than 10 years at Embrapa Southeast Catle. One experiment includes eucalyptus planting, while the other involves native Cerrado trees. In addition, long-term experiments with well-managed pastures, some with more than 20 years of irrigation and rain-fed systems with different management techniques, including fertilization, intercropping with legumes, and new experiments with bio-inputs will be used. Furthermore, two other long-term field experiments from Unesp/FCA-Botucatu with crop-pasture integration systems, with grains (soybean and corn), different levels of liming and fertilization, and another with intercropping with legumes, of 21 and 17 years, respectively, will be evaluated.Private rural property areas will be monitored to expand adoption incentives, in addition to providing consistent recommendations for sustainable management and possibilities for achieving carbon neutrality for rural producers, cooperatives, rural extension institutions such as CATI, national and multinational companies, consultants, and others. The project will involve assessments and monitoring of carbon stocks in the soil and above-ground biomass, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil fertility and plant nutrition, and other indicators and parameters of the soil-plant-atmosphere system. Innovative analyses and research using advanced methods, especially spectroscopic, chromatographic, and imaging methods for quantifying carbon in the soil, will be carried out. The mechanisms of storage and stabilization of organic matter in the soil (SOM), including estimates of the carbon life span in the soil, will be explored. Mathematical modeling of carbon in the soil will be conducted using Century and CQSTER models. Advanced methods (quantum inspired) proposed are available in Brazil and abroad and will be used through international cooperation with researchers from the United States and Germany, such as isotopic analyses, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance, confocal laser scanning microscopy, Nano-secondary Ion Mass Spectra (NanoSIMS), electron probe microanalysis, high-resolution mass spectrometry using synchrotron radiation, among others. Additionally, a proof of concept is intended to be developed on the relationship between sustainability in production and the gain or loss of carbon in the soil, with the proposal of a dual-purpose indicator(s) that indicates in the short term whether the system is gaining or losing carbon and serves to gauge the sustainability of production. The project will involve creating a database, which will be hosted on an advanced computational structure at Embrapa Agriculture Digital in Campinas/SP, and will be publicly accessible, ensuring that the scientific community and public policymakers have access to the available data.This proposal builds on previous work, such as the Pecus Network Project and the thematic project for assessing GHG emissions in livestock in Southeastern Brazil, supported by Fapesp n.2017/20084-5, which concludes in July this year, including enteric methane emission data from cattle. Other ongoing research and action initiatives with public and private institutions, such as the ILPF Network, Coopercitrus, CATI/SAESP, and others, will also be used in synergy to leverage the reach of the results of this proposal. (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BABOS, DIEGO V.; TADINI, AMANDA M.; DE MORAIS, CARLA P.; BARRETO, BIANCA B.; CARVALHO, MAYARA A. R.; BERNARDI, ALBERTO C. C.; OLIVEIRA, PATRICIA P. A.; PEZZOPANE, JOSE R. M.; MILORI, DEBORA M. B. P.; MARTIN-NETO, LADISLAU. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) as an analytical tool in precision agriculture: Evaluation of spatial variability of soil fertility in integrated agricultural production systems. CATENA, v. 239, p. 13-pg., 2024-02-22. (23/02444-5, 17/20084-5, 19/02939-9, 19/14144-0, 17/22950-1)

VALANI, GUSTAVO PEREIRA; MARTINI, ALINE FACHIN; MACHADO, CASSIA BEZERRA; DUARTE, DANIEL AMANCIO; DE BRITO, MARCIO FERNANDO PAIXAO; PEZZOPANE, JOSE RICARDO MACEDO; BERNARDI, ALBERTO CARLOS DE CAMPOS; ANTONINO, ANTONIO CELSO DANTAS; HECK, RICHARD JOHN; GIMENEZ, DANIEL; et al. Soil porosity in integrated and non-integrated grazing systems in a Brazilian Ferralsol assessed by 3D X-ray computed tomography. COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE, v. 237, p. 13-pg., 2025-10-01. (19/14144-0, 23/02444-5)

BRUNETTI, HENRIQUE BAUAB; PASQUINI NETO, ROLANDO; BOSI, CRISTIAM; OLIVEIRA, PATRICIA PERONDI ANCHAO; GARCIA, ALEXANDRE ROSSETTO; PINHO, LIVIA FERREIRA; DE SOUSA, ALDA JULIANA CASTRO; RAMOS, GIOVANNA GALHARDO; BERNARDI, ALBERTO CARLOS DE CAMPOS; DE PEDROSO, ANDRE FARIA; et al. Late Stages of Tropical Silvopastoral System: An Opportunity to Maximise Forage and Animal Production. GRASS AND FORAGE SCIENCE, v. 80, n. 3, p. 16-pg., 2025-08-15. (19/04528-6, 24/12895-7, 24/19920-7, 21/04335-3, 23/02444-5, 17/20084-5)

BRUNETTI, HENRIQUE B.; OLIVEIRA, PATRICIA P. A.; PEZZOPANE, JOSE R. M.; BERNARDI, ALBERTO C. DE C.; GARCIA, ALEXANDRE R.; BERNDT, ALEXANDRE; PEDROSO, ANDREDE F.; LELIS, ANA L. J.; MEDEIROS, SERGIO R.. Silvopastoral system as a climate-smart alternative for beef production: Enteric methane emission neutralization and animal thermal comfort increase. AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS, v. 225, p. 11-pg., 2025-04-01. (23/02444-5, 19/04528-6, 24/12895-7)

VILLAS-BOAS, PAULINO R.; MILORI, DEBORA M. B. P.; MARTIN-NETO, LADISLAU. LIBS for Rapid Soil Bulk Density and Carbon Stock Estimations: Toward Scalable Soil Carbon Monitoring. European Journal of Soil Science, v. 76, n. 4, p. 14-pg., 2025-07-01. (13/07276-1, 23/02444-5, 23/02444-5)

BENTO, LUCAS RAIMUNDO; DOS SANTOS, JOA VITOR; SCHWEIZER, STEFFEN A.; DE MORAIS, CARLA PEREIRA; MITSUYUKI, MILENE CORSO; OLIVEIRA, PATRICIA PERONDI ANCHAO; PEZZOPANE, JOSE RICARDO MACEDO; BERNARDI, ALBERTO CARLOS DE CAMPOS; MARTIN-NETO, LADISLAU. Moderate pasture intensification enhances soil organic carbon stocks in a degraded Brazilian Ferralsol. SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH, v. 251, p. 14-pg., 2025-03-11. (19/18267-0, 22/07259-9, 23/02444-5, 20/04938-7)

DOS SANTOS, JOAO VITOR; GORANOV, ALEKSANDAR I.; BENTO, LUCAS R.; OLIVEIRA, PATRICIA P. A.; PEZZOPANE, JOSE R. M.; BERNARDI, ALBERTO C. C.; DE SA, IVERO P.; NOGUEIRA, ANA RITA A.; MARTIN-NETO, LADISLAU; HATCHER, PATRICK G.. Biogeochemistry of dissolved organic matter and inorganic solutes in soil profiles of tropical pasturelands. SOIL & TILLAGE RESEARCH, v. 240, p. 15-pg., 2024-03-23. (23/02444-5, 21/08362-5, 20/04938-7, 17/20084-5, 19/18267-0)