Behavior of beef cattle and the microclimate with and without shade

Baliscei, Marcio Antonio; Souza, Wander de; Barbosa, Orlando Rus; Cecato, Ulysses; Krutzmann, Alexandre; Queiroz, Edicarlos de Oliveira

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v34i4.15055

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…For cattle, the main benefit due to the presence of trees is undoubtedly the improvement of environmental conditions and consequently their welfare (Porfírio da Silva 2009). According to Baliscei (2012), changes in temperature, radiation incidence, and humidity are directly related to their thermal comfort. Pires et al (2010) emphasized that changes in grazing and rumination patterns, excessive dislocation, and frequent water intake can be signs of heat stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of trees on the thermal environment and behaviour of grazing heifers in Brazilian Midwest

Lopes

Eckstein

Piña

et al. 2016

Trop Anim Health Prod

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The intensification of the livestock production system has gained prominence over the last decades. In addition to the reduction of grazing areas and increased productivity per hectare, the intercropping involving forest tree species and ruminants has been established as a sustainable production model, generating income and valuation of natural capital. Besides the social, economic, and environmental aspects, the animal welfare is a noteworthy factor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the microclimatic conditions in an open-pasture and in silvopastoral systems, considering the Temperature Humidity Index (THI) and alterations in animal behavior. Three different pasture arrangements were analyzed in this study: total absence of trees in an open-pasture (ArrA), presence of peripheral trees (Eucalyptus spp.) along the border fences (ArrB), and an intensive wooded area aggregated with pasture (ArrC). A herd of 24 crossbreed heifers (3/4 and 7/8 Holstein-Girolando breed) was evaluated. Behavior data were collected every 15 min starting at 08 h00 with readings ending at 16 h00. THI was used to evaluate the environmental comfort. The THI found in the system with open-pasture and in the two systems with silvopastoral arrangement reached critical levels. The two arrangements with eucalyptus rows were not capable of eliminating heat stress in the conditions found in the north region of Mato Grosso State although better conditions were obtained under the tree canopy. The differences between the microclimatic variables for the three arrangements modified the behavior of the animals regarding their location and activity, except for water consumption.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of trees on the thermal environment and behaviour of grazing heifers in Brazilian Midwest

Lopes

Eckstein

Piña

et al. 2016

Trop Anim Health Prod

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“…Grazing activity and milk production The higher grazing time in OP was most likely explained by the lower CP content of herbage, which was compensated by selective grazing by the animals and thus longer grazing duration (Olivo et al, 2006;Baliscei et al, 2012). The results indicated that higher idling time in the SPS may reflect benefits from the shade of trees during daylight.…”

Section: Nutritive Valuementioning

confidence: 95%

Sward characteristics and performance of dairy cows in organic grass–legume pastures shaded by tropical trees

Paciullo

Pires

Aroeira

et al. 2014

Animal

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The silvopastoral system (SPS) has been suggested to ensure sustainability in animal production systems in tropical ecosystems. The objective of this study was to evaluate pasture characteristics, herbage intake, grazing activity and milk yield of Holstein × Zebu cows managed in two grazing systems (treatments): SPS dominated by a graminaceous forage (Brachiaria decumbens) intercropped with different leguminous herbaceous forages (Stylosanthes spp., Pueraria phaseoloides and Calopogonium mucunoides) and legume trees (Acacia mangium, Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala), and open pasture (OP) of B. decumbens intercropped only with Stylosanthes spp. Pastures were managed according to the rules for organic cattle production. The study was carried out by following a switch back format with 12 cows, 6 for each treatment, over 3 experimental years. Herbage mass was similar ( P > 0.05) for both treatments, supporting an average stocking rate of 1.23 AU/ha. Daily dry matter intake did not vary ( P > 0.05) between treatments (average of 11.3 ± 1.02 kg/cow per day, corresponding to 2.23 ± 0.2% BW). Milk yield was higher ( P < 0.05; 10.4 ± 0.06 kg/cow per day) in the SPS than in the OP (9.5 ± 0.06 kg/cow per day) during the 1 st year, but did not significantly differ ( P > 0.05) in subsequent years. The highest ( P < 0.05) values for herbage mass and milk yield were observed during the 3 rd year. In the SPS, with moderate shade (19% shade relative to a full-sun condition), the grass CP was higher ( P < 0.05) than in the OP, although the NDF content and digestibility coefficient were not modified. The animals spent more time ( P < 0.05) idling in the SPS than in OP. The higher legume proportion in the SPS was associated with the higher CP level in B. decumbens relative to the OP, which could explain the better ( P < 0.05) performance of the cows in silvopastoral areas during the 1 st year. However, during the 2 nd and 3 rd years, similarities in the legume percentages of both systems resulted in similar ( P > 0.05) milk yields. Low persistence of Stylosanthes guianensis was observed over the experimental period, indicating that the persistence of forage legumes under grazing could be improved using adapted cultivars that have higher annual seed production. The SPS and a diversified botanical composition of the pasture using legume species mixed with grasses are recommended for organic milk production.

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“…Animals' body temperature is determinant to their thermal comfort (Baliscei et al 2012), productivity and reproductive efficiency (Garcia et al 2010). Baliscei et al (2013) measured black globe temperature, which is strongly correlated with animals' body temperature, and found lower values in silvopastoral system than in an open area.…”

Section: Potential Use Of Silvopastoral Systems To Attenuate Climate mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For animals, thermal stress occurs when air temperature reaches values higher than the thermoneutral range (Armstrong 1994). Such condition causes increase of animals' body temperature, which is determinant to their thermal comfort (Baliscei et al 2012), which affects productivity and reproductive efficiency (Garcia et al 2010). As consequences of such stress, physiological and behavior adaptations occur, like preference for shaded places, increases of water intake, peripheral vasodilation, sweating, and respiratory rate (Blackshow and Blackshow 1994), and, as consequence, reduction of animal productivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Silvopastoral systems are a kind of agroforestry system (AFS) in which trees or shrubs are combined with animals and pastures (Nair 1993). These systems improve several aspects for the pasture and animals, such as recovering and sustainability of pasture production, ecological status (Carvalho and Botrel 2002), and animals comfort (Baliscei et al 2012) and productivity (Garcia et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parameterization and evaluation of mechanistic crop models for estimating <em>Urochloa brizantha</em> cv. BRS Piatã productivity under full sun and in silvopastoral system

Bosi¹

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Parameterization and evaluation of mechanistic crop models for estimating Urochloa brizantha cv. BRS Piatã productivity under full sun and in silvopastoral system Silvopastoral systems are a kind of agroforestry system in which trees or shrubs are combined with animals and pastures. Silvopastoral systems are important to intensify pasture production and mitigate climate change effects. However, very few studies have been performed to adapt crop models to simulate these systems. The aim of this study was to parameterize and test the mechanistic crop models APSIM and CROPGRO for estimating Urochloa brizantha cv. BRS Piatã productivity under full sun and in a silvopastoral system, to evaluate the models' performance to simulate tree-crop interactions, and to develop tools to improve these simulations. For this purpose, four field experiments were conducted under full sun to investigate cutting management under irrigated and rainfed conditions and grazing management under rainfed conditions with high and low N supply. Another experiment was carried out in a silvopastoral system with the trees arranged in simple rows, in East-West orientation, with 15 m between rows and 2 m between plants in the rows. This experiment was conducted under grazing management and rainfed conditions with the pasture variables, microclimate and soil water content being assessed at four distances from the North row (0.00 m, 3.75 m, 7.50 m and 11.25 m). The forage mass simulations for the pasture at full sun, performed using the APSIM-Tropical Pasture model, showed good agreement between observed and estimated data (R 2 between 0.82 and 0.97, d between 0.92 and 0.98, and NSE ranging from 0.72 to 0.92), while the simulations with the CROPGRO-Perennial Forage model achieved good precision (R 2 between 0.65 and 0.93) and good accuracy (d from 0.86 to 0.97, and NSE from 0.60 to 0.90), for the various managements and environmental conditions. Even considering the promising performance of both models for pastures under full sun, they already needs to be tested in other locations, climate conditions, soils, and grazing or cutting intensities, to prove its accuracy and reach enough confidence. The pasture growth simulations at the silvopastoral system indicated that the APSIM-Tropical Pasture was efficient when only competition by solar radiation was considered (R 2 from 0.69 to 0.88, d from 0.90 to 0.96, and NSE between 0.51 and 0.85), but inefficient when considering only competition by soil water (R 2 between 0.58 and 0.85, d between 0.58 and 0.82, and NSE from-4.07 to-0.14). The CROPGRO-Perennial Forage achieved good performance on pasture growth simulation at the distances 0.00 m, 3.75 m, and 7.50 m from the trees (R 2 from 0.75 to 0.90, d from 0.93 to 0.96, NSE between 0.74 and 0.85). Despite the good results, improvements should be performed in both models for simulating all factors that affect forage growth in silvopastoral systems.

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Behavior of beef cattle and the microclimate with and without shade

Cited by 17 publications

References 16 publications

The influence of trees on the thermal environment and behaviour of grazing heifers in Brazilian Midwest

The influence of trees on the thermal environment and behaviour of grazing heifers in Brazilian Midwest

Sward characteristics and performance of dairy cows in organic grass–legume pastures shaded by tropical trees

Parameterization and evaluation of mechanistic crop models for estimating <em>Urochloa brizantha</em> cv. BRS Piatã productivity under full sun and in silvopastoral system

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