Livestock production in intensified tropical grazing systems and its consequences for the environmental

• Grant number: 19/17218-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: December 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Adibe Luiz Abdalla Filho
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/18790-3 - Environmental effects of the pasture-sugarcane conversion and pasture intensification, AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

The sustainability of livestock production requires the intensification of grazing land, but for the decision of how, when and where this intensification should take place depends on the information as to the characterization of forage mass and their effects on variables related to sustainable livestock production developed in Brazil. The goal of this project is to compare at the same time and in the same experimental area, the effects of the intensification of grazing on forage production and nutritional quality in livestock production in Brazil, based on the use of tropical pasture. Furthermore, determinations in RUMINANT model will be employed for the comparison of the results of production of animal products, intensity of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) and other information related to the sustainability of livestock production. The hypothesis is that the intensification of grazing land will result in greater production and nutritional quality of forage, allowing the allocation of a larger number of animals in the same area, increasing the production of animal products per area and contributing to the sustainability of the system, since the intensity of GHG emissions, in relation the amount of animal product produced, will be minor compared to those obtained in degraded pastures, increasing the competitiveness of the livestock activity. It is expected that the results of this study may provide information that will contribute to the implementation of sustainable practices in grazing livestock systems, one of the major farming activities developed in Brazil, as well as to contribute to the policies of reduction of GHG emissions in the sector. (AU)