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Agronomy
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Biomass Production and Use to Improve the Sustainability of Ruminant...
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Biomass Production and Use to Improve the Sustainability of Ruminant Systems

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Grassland and Pasture Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2023) | Viewed by 2920

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Adibe Luiz Abdalla

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
Interests: sustainable ruminant production systems
Dr. Rogério Martins Maurício

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Bioengineering, Federal University of São João del-Rei, São João del-Rei 36307-352, MG, Brazil
Interests: silvopastoral systems; cattle nutrition; forage analysis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

FAO reports indicate that over 765 M people are considered undernourished, and the livestock sector has a critical role to feed the global population. Livestock are important sources of nutrients (protein, energy, long-chain fatty acids, minerals, vitamins) that are highly bioavailable compared to plant foods. Ruminants consume biomass that is not edible for humans, and they can be raised in marginal areas not suitable for agricultural. The effects of global warming are putting the world’s food security at risk by the reduction of biomass in monoculture pastures, but could be also part of the solution to enrich the agropastoral ecosystem (e.g., grasses, bushes, and trees in the silvopastoral system). Biomass is the primary source of nutrients for cattle production, but it is much more than forage: feed and food, organic fertilizer, carbon sink, energy, fuel, promoter of biodiversity, part of the landscape scenario, an important component to produce water and the main component of agroforestry systems and agroecology science. The adopted production system to meet this demand should be sustainable and in line with the SDGs (sustainable development goals – UN Agenda).

[*] Aim and scope of the Special Issue:

  • Identify livestock feed systems based on diversified biomass sources.
    • Agroforestry, silvopastoral systems, regenerative agriculture/livestock, integrated systems, organic livestock systems, natural rangeland systems, and cut and carry systems.
  • Explore unconventional sources of biomass for ruminant nutrition.
    • Nutritional value, reducing methanogenesis (tannins, plant secondary metabolites, and essential oils), low demand on soil fertility and water, and positive synergies between plants species.
  • Point out the perspectives of circular economy for the livestock sector.
    • ”Waste” to ”resources”: manures, crop residues, leaves, peels, and water.

[*] Cutting-edge research:

We are seeking original research papers looking for scientific evidence on biomass, and modeling data from established or regenerated rangeland that has or is intended to change to systems committed to the FAO’s sustainable development goals to subsidize future public policies.

Dr. Adibe Luiz Abdalla
Dr. Rogério Martins Maurício
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ruminant production
  • sustainable development
  • climate changes

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1660 KiB  
Article
Tithonia diversifolia Improves In Vitro Rumen Microbial Synthesis of Sheep Diets without Changes in Total Gas and Methane Production
by Simón Pérez-Márquez, Vagner S. Ovani, Paulo de Mello Tavares Lima, Ângela Maria Quintão Lana, Helder Louvandini, Adibe Luiz Abdalla and Rogério Martins Maurício
Agronomy 2023, 13(11), 2768; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13112768 - 04 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1346
Abstract
Among the alternatives identified as capable of making livestock farming a more efficient activity and reducing its environmental impact, the use of feeds with high digestibility and the use of non-conventional fodder species can be highlighted. Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray (TD) has [...] Read more.
Among the alternatives identified as capable of making livestock farming a more efficient activity and reducing its environmental impact, the use of feeds with high digestibility and the use of non-conventional fodder species can be highlighted. Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray (TD) has already gained attention as a feed for ruminants. Nonetheless, there has been little discussion about the impacts of this plant on the rumen dynamics that lead to better animal performance. The aim of this study was to assess how increasing levels of TD could affect ruminal microbial biomass synthesis, degradability, and in vitro gas production (IVGP) of diets. Four diets were evaluated: a control diet (TD0: 400 g kg−1 soybean meal and maize grain, and 600 g kg−1 Tifton 85 hay (Cynodon spp.)) and three increasing levels of TD (TD9: 90, TD27: 270, and TD45: 450 g kg−1–dry matter basis) as a replacement for dietary roughage. A 96 h IVGP assay was carried out and five incubation times (2, 4, 10, 24, and 96 h) were used for degradability determination. Gas produced, methane (CH4), degradability of organic matter (IVDOM), short-chained fatty acid (SCFA) production, partitioning factor (PF), and microbial biomass (MB) were evaluated among treatments. There was no significant effect (p > 0.05) between TD inclusion and IVGP at most incubation times; only at 6 h of incubation did gas production increase linearly with TD inclusion (R2 = 0.19; p < 0.05). TD inclusion had no effects on CH4. IVDOM increased linearly with TD inclusion at 6 and 10 h, with TD45 being more degradable than the control diet at 6 h only. There was a positive linear relationship (R2 = 0.20; p < 0.05) between TD inclusion and PF. TD45 had significantly higher PF values than the control. MB also increased linearly (R2 = 0.30; p < 0.05) with TD inclusion, and all diets with TD had significantly more MB than the control diet. The inclusion of TD at the levels used in this work was revealed to have a positive impact on microbial protein synthesis, which could be related to the higher microbial efficiency of increased substrate quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Production and Use to Improve the Sustainability of Ruminant Systems)
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13 pages, 2006 KiB  
Article
Productivity and Nutritional Quality of Nitrogen-Fixing and Non-Fixing Shrub Species for Ruminant Production
by Magnolia Tzec-Gamboa, Oscar Omar Álvarez-Rivera, Luis Ramírez y Avilés, Juan Ku-Vera and Francisco Javier Solorio-Sánchez
Agronomy 2023, 13(4), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13041089 - 10 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1188
Abstract
Fodder shrubs are important dry season feed sources for livestock in semi-arid environments. It has been proposed that a mixture of leguminous with non-leguminous shrubs may increase rates of N cycling and improve biomass and fodder quality. The objective of the present study [...] Read more.
Fodder shrubs are important dry season feed sources for livestock in semi-arid environments. It has been proposed that a mixture of leguminous with non-leguminous shrubs may increase rates of N cycling and improve biomass and fodder quality. The objective of the present study was to assess the biomass productivity and fodder quality of leguminous shrubs growing a mixture with non-leguminous shrubs. Three shrub species—the legume Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) and the non-legumes Guazuma ulmifolia (Lam.) and Moringa oleifera (Lam.)—were grown as legume/non-legume mixtures and as monocultures. Total fodder production and quality were estimated over five harvests at three-month intervals. The Leucaena–Guazuma mixture had the largest fodder production (9045 kg ha−1 year−1), followed by the Leucaena monocrop (7750 kg ha−1 year−1). Total nitrogen accumulation in the foliage was also high in the Leucaena–Guazuma mixture, reaching 282 kg ha−1 year−1; the Leucaena monocrop accumulated 244 kg N, while the Moringa monocrop took up only 46 kg N ha−1. The concentration of polyphenols was high in Leucaena and Guazuma, while Moringa had the lowest value. The high survival and excellent growth rates, as well as the high foliage production observed in Leucaena and Guazuma, suggest that they have the potential to provide high-quality fodder for livestock. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass Production and Use to Improve the Sustainability of Ruminant Systems)
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