Temperate silvopastures provide greater ecosystem services than conventional pasture systems.

Management and design affect systems' ability to deliver ecosystem services and meet sustainable intensification needs for a growing population. Soil-plant-animal health evaluations at the systems level for conventional and silvopastoral environments are lacking and challenge adoption across temperate regions. Impacts of silvopasture on soil quality, microclimate, cattle heat stress, forage quality and yield, and cattle weight gain were compared to a conventional pasture in the mid-southern US. Here, we illustrate silvopastures have greater soil organic carbon, water content, and overall quality, with lower temperatures (soil and cattle) than conventional pastures. Forage production and cattle weight gains were similar across systems; yet, conventional pasture systems would need approximately four times more land area to yield equivalent net productivity (tree, nuts, forage, and animal weight) of one ha of silvopasture. Temperate silvopastures enhanced delivery of ecosystem services by improving soil quality and promoting animal welfare without productivity losses, thus allowing sustainable production under a changing climate.

Spatial monitoring technologies for coupling the soil plant water animal nexus.

Systems-level studies aimed at determining how soil properties are linked to plant production and ultimately animal response spatially are lacking. This study aims to identify if grazing pressure is linked to soil properties, terrain attributes, and above-ground plant accumulation and nutritive value in a silvopastoral (or integrated tree-livestock) system. Overall, cattle prefer grazing native grasses (2.81 vs. 1.24 h ha-1 AU-1) and udic (dry) landscape positions compared to aquic (wet) areas (2.07 vs. 1.60 h ha-1 AU-1). Greater grazing frequency occurs in udic soils with greater phosphorus and potassium contents and with accumulated forage with less lignin (P ≤ 0.05), which correspond to reduced elevation and greater tree height and diameter (shade) during summer mob grazing. Combining spatial monitoring technologies (both soil and animal) with forage allowance can optimize grazing systems management and sustainability spatially and temporally.

ASAS-CSAS ANNUAL MEETING SYMPOSIUM ON WATER USE EFFICIENCY AT THE FORAGE-ANIMAL INTERFACE: Life cycle assessment of forage-based livestock production systems.

Livestock production is increasingly subjected to environmental and economic challenges related to water quantities being utilized, expressed as green (evapotranspiration from rainwater), blue (surface and groundwater), or gray (waste) water footprints at each stage of the product life cycle. Published data indicated that the largest share of water being used for producing beef in the United States can be traced back to growing forage and feed (>90%), whereby the green water footprint was substantially greater (12,933 liters of water per kg of product) than the blue water footprint, as only a small amount of pasture- and cropland is irrigated (525 L/kg). Based on prevailing quantification methods, feed conversion ratios, and grazing land required, water footprints for beef produced through grazing alone can be relatively high. Green water footprints can easily reach more than 19,000 L/kg for beef from grazing compared with a maximum of 1,731 L/kg for chicken under a typical scenario. However, much of the existing grazing land cannot or should not be converted to cropland for various ecological reasons, and large water footprints would remain for the vegetation even if cattle were removed. Life cycle assessments (LCA) were historically developed to provide a framework for evaluation of the full life cycle of a product or service and to ultimately model environmental impacts through life cycle impact assessment methods. Life cycle assessments grew more refined during past years and efforts are being made to reflect the environmental and economic consequences of different livestock and crop production systems more accurately than in the past. Typical beef production systems on natural and naturalized grasslands in North America generate environmental, economic, and societal benefits that should be reflected in future LCA, farm policies, and regulations. To increase the water use efficiency of each segment of the beef supply chain and thereby to reduce water footprints, grazing systems and methods as well as external inputs should be further optimized and integrated toward enhanced ecosystem services, thereby lowering the overall environmental impact of livestock production.

Diurnal variation in fecal concentrations of acid-detergent insoluble ash and alkaline-peroxide lignin from cattle fed bermudagrass hays of varying nutrient content.

BACKGROUND: The effect of time of fecal sampling on the accuracy of acid-detergent insoluble ash (ADIA) and alkaline-peroxide lignin (APL) for the prediction of fecal output (FO) in cattle was evaluated. Eight ruminally cannulated cows (594 ± 35.5 kg) were allocated randomly to 4 bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] hay diets markedly different in crude protein concentration (79-164 g/kg) with 2 replicates per diet for 3 periods. Cows were offered hay individually at 20 g DM/kg of body weight daily in equal feedings at 08:00 and 16:00 h for a 10-d adaptation period followed by 5-d of total fecal collection. Fecal grab samples also were taken each day during the fecal collection period at 06:00, 12:00, 18:00, and 24:00 h either directly from the rectum or from freshly voided feces. Samples were composited within cow and time across the 5 d total fecal collection period. Additionally, forage, ort, and fecal samples were analyzed for concentrations of APL and ADIA. RESULTS: Fecal concentrations of ADIA and APL were not affected by sampling time (P ≥ 0.22), even though diet affected (P < 0.01) fecal ADIA and APL concentrations. There were no diet × sampling time interactions (P ≥ 0.60). Estimates of FO and dry matter digestibility (DMD) from ADIA and APL were not affected (P ≥ 0.16) by sampling time or the diet × sampling time interaction (P ≥ 0.74). Estimates of FO and DMD from markers from different sampling times or all different combinations of sampling time were not different (P ≥ 0.72) from those of total collection among internal markers. CONCLUSION: Little variation in concentrations of ADIA and APL in daily fecal excretion across time increases flexibility in fecal grab sampling schedules for predicting FO and DMD.

Comparison of acid-detergent lignin, alkaline-peroxide lignin, and acid-detergent insoluble ash as internal markers for predicting fecal output and digestibility by cattle offered bermudagrass hays of varying nutrient composition.

BACKGROUND: The potential for acid-detergent insoluble ash (ADIA), alkaline-peroxide lignin (APL), and acid-detergent lignin (ADL) to predict fecal output (FO) and dry matter digestibility (DMD) by cattle offered bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] hays of different qualities was evaluated. Eight ruminally cannulated cows (594 ± 35.5 kg) were allocated randomly to 4 hay diets: low (L), medium low (ML), medium high (MH), and high (H) crude protein (CP) concentration (79, 111, 131, and 164 g CP/kg on a DM basis, respectively). Diets were offered in 3 periods with 2 diet replicates per period and were rotated across cows between periods. Cows were individually fed 20 g DM/kg of body weight in equal feedings at 08:00 and 16:00 h for a 10-d adaptation followed by a 5-d total fecal collection. Actual DM intake (DMI), DMD, and FO were determined based on hay offered, ort, and feces excreted. These components were then analyzed for ADL, APL, and ADIA concentration to determine marker recovery and marker-based estimates of FO and DMD. RESULTS: Forage DMI was affected by diet (P = 0.02), and DMI from MH and H was greater (P < 0.05) than from L. Apparent DMD tended (P = 0.08) to differ among diets while FO (P = 0.20) was not affected by diet treatments. Average ADL recovery (1.16) was greater (P < 0.05) than that of ADIA (1.03) and APL (1.06), but ADIA and APL did not differ (P = 0.42). Estimates of FO and DMD derived using APL and ADIA were not different (P ≥ 0.05) from total fecal collection while those using ADL differed (P < 0.05). There was no diet by marker interaction (P ≥ 0.22) for either FO or DMD. CONCLUSION: Acid-detergent insoluble ash and APL accurately predicted FO and DMD of cattle fed bermudagrass hay of varying nutrient composition. These internal markers may facilitate studies involving large numbers of animals and forages. Results from such studies may be used to develop improved equations to predict energy values of forages based on the relationship of dietary components to digestibility across a wide range of forages.

Jardín botánico de plantas medicinales, aromáticas y plaguicidas del Valle de Ujarrás, Costa Rica / Botanical garden of medicinal, aromatic and pesticidal plants of the Valle de Ujarrás, Costa Rica

El deterioro de los recursos naturales y de germoplasma en Centro América, requiere urgentemente de la creación de jardines botánicos como centros de conservación y de estudio de los recursos fitogenéticos. La Asociación de Productores de Agricultura Sostenible del Valle de Ujarrás en Costa Rica (APASVU), comenzó desde 1995 la creación de un jardín botánico de plantas medicinales, . aromáticas y plaguicidas. Las mismas se colectaron en muchas regiones de Costa Rica y algunas especies en el Sur de México.