Natural shade from integrated crop–livestock–forestry mitigates environmental heat and increases the quantity and quality of oocytes and embryos produced in vitro by Gyr dairy cows

Martins, Claudia Miranda; Fonseca-Neto, A.M.; Bessler, H. C.; Dode, M. A. N.; Leme, L. O.; Franco, M. M.; McManus, Concepta; Malaquias, Juaci Vitória; Ferreira, Isabel Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104341

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…They found a small difference in milk production, with the highest (P≤0.05) milk production with the medium (4.4 ± 0.21 kg/cow/day) and high (4.4 ± 0.21 kg/cow/day) level of tree cover, followed by the low level of tree cover (4.1 ± 0.21 kg/cow/day). On the other hand, Martins et al (2021) found no difference in milk production between SPS (11.2 kg of milk, single row -267 trees/ha) and treeless pasture (11.4 kg of milk). For reproductive performance, the studies found better animal performance in the silvopasture system.…”

Section: Performance Variablesmentioning

confidence: 66%

“…Overall, there was no difference for microclimate variables and thermal comfort indicators between the evaluated tree arrangements. However, when the studies compared a silvopasture system to a treeless pasture, regardless of tree arrangement evaluated (e.g., Martins et al, 2021: 2016; trees along the border fences: 49 m between rows and 15 m between rows) found no difference in thermal comfort index between the tree arrangements evaluated. As expected, the SPS presents lower average values of thermal comfort indicators than treeless pasture.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Lemes et al (2021) evaluated the recovery rate of oocytes of beef heifers and found a higher number in SPS (74.3%) compared to treeless pasture (65.3%), but there was no significant difference in embryo production between the systems. Martins et al (2021) found an effect of season and treatment on the reproductive variables evaluated (total follicles, total oocytes, viable oocytes and blastocysts) in lactating Gyr cows; they found a higher (P≤0.05) number of ovarian follicles (OF) and viable oocytes (VO) during the winter in cows raised on SPS (OF: 37, VO: 6.3) compared to cows raised on treeless pasture (OF: 31.7, VO: 3.4). Bertogna et al (2019) found higher (P≤0.05) means values of IGF-I (547 ng/ml) and weight gain (290 kg) on Nellore heifers raised on SPS of triple-rows (135 tree/ha) compared to SPS of single row (509 ng/ml and 288 kg; 90 trees/ha;) and treeless pasture (476 ng/ml and 279 kg).…”

Section: Performance Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of tree arrangements of silvopasture system on behaviour and performance of cattle – a systematic review

Sousa

Deniz

Dittrich

et al. 2023

Annals of Animal Science

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This review aimed to provide a critical and systematic evaluation of the scientific literature about the effect of tree arrangements of the silvopasture system on the thermal environment, behaviour, and performance of cattle. We conducted a search using Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify the key literature of the theme. Peer-reviewed published articles written in English, comparing one or more tree arrangements of SPS to treeless pasture or comparing shaded and sunny areas within the SPS, were selected. The resulting manuscripts (n=191) underwent a four-step PRISMA appraisal process. This process resulted in a final sample of 37 articles, which were used for recording metadata, bibliometric analysis, and assessment of the results, using the software R. Of the 37 articles, 20 studies evaluated dairy cattle (behaviour: 14; performance: 7) and 17 evaluated beef cattle (behaviour: 6; performance: 12). The main behaviours evaluated were grazing (95%) and ruminating (90%), while weight gain (89%) was the main performance variable evaluated. The co-occurrence network analysis highlighted that the studies related the animals’ response to improving the thermal environment promoted by silvopasture systems. The main difference among tree arrangements evaluated by the studies was tree density, which ranged from 5 to 800 trees/ha; most studies covered SPS with row of trees (single row, n=16 and multiple rows, n=19). Most studies (n=32) were carried out in Brazil. The evidence of this review showed that regardless of tree arrangement, the silvopasture system improves the thermal environment for cattle, although some effects on behaviour and performance are inconclusive.

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Section: Performance Variablesmentioning

confidence: 66%

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Performance Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of tree arrangements of silvopasture system on behaviour and performance of cattle – a systematic review

Sousa

Deniz

Dittrich

et al. 2023

Annals of Animal Science

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“…Therefore, it is deeply important to know the climate variables and their interactions with farm animals, in addition to their behavioral, productive and physiological responses in the adequacy of any production system, being necessary to combine measurement of animal values and environment, as a way to assess thermal comfort, aiming to establish measures to optimize environmental conditions ( 17 ), because when there is thermal stress, dairy cows tend to reduce milk production ( 18 – 21 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavior and thermal comfort of light and dark coat dairy cows in the Eastern Amazon

Silva

Santos

et al. 2022

Front. Vet. Sci.

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This study aimed to evaluate the behavior and thermal comfort of 20 Girolando cows (5/8-H/G), with light and dark coats, in the wettest period of the year, in Santarém, Pará, Brazil, in pasture with access to shade, and plenty of drinking water and mineral salt. Animal behavior categories were computed for 12 h a day, on 3 days in a row, by trained observers. Three day shifts were considered: Morning (6:00 a.m. to 9:55 a.m.), Intermediate (10:00 a.m. to 01:55 p.m.) and Afternoon (2:00 p.m. to 05:55 p.m.). The Temperature Index (TI), the Black Globe Humidity Index (BGHI) and the Comfort Index (CI) were calculated to measure thermal comfort. At all times studied, BGHI pointed that the environment was outside the thermal comfort zone. Dark-coated animals spent more 34.26% of the time in activities in the shade. The light-coated animals remained more 11.88% of the time in the sun, performing their natural behaviors. Both light and dark coat animals remained more 77 and 74.44% of the time in the sun, respectively. The behavior “in the sun while grazing” was the most evident, in both coats, in the studied shifts. The behaviors “in the shade while walking” and “in the shade while standing idle” were more evident (p < 0.01) in dark-coated cattle. The grazing behavior was higher in animals with dark coat (p < 0.05). In all evaluated shifts, there was a positive correlation between the behavior “in the sun while grazing” with the CI (r = 0.44211; p < 0.0305). Behaviors performed in the shade, such as “idleness while lying down,” “ruminating while lying down and standing up,” and behaviors “in the sun,” “idleness while lying down” and “ruminating while lying down,” were negatively correlated with CI. It is concluded that, even in the wettest period of the year, in the Eastern Amazon, Girolando dairy cows are exposed to hot environments, which causes thermal discomfort and changes in their natural behavior, as they spend more time standing in shaded areas, usually in rumination. Also, light-coated cows spend more time in the sun, while dark-coated cows spend more time in the shade. Thus, light-coated cows tend to have health and zootechnical performance negatively affected.

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“…Natural shading with tree species can reduce the incident radiant heat load on the animals by 30% [ 11 ]. In addition, shade use for dairy pasture production is an essential resource to increase the quantity and quality of oocytes and embryos produced in vitro [ 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shade Modifies Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Low to Medium Production Dairy Cows at Pasture in an Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest System

Reis

Ferreira

Mazocco

et al. 2021

Animals

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Under conditions of high temperature, humidity, and incidence of solar radiation, dairy cows use behavioral changes as a strategy to decrease the metabolic heat production at pasture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the behavioral and physiological responses of Gyr and Girolando (5/8 Holstein 3/8 Gyr, and ½ Holstein ½ Gyr) dairy cows submitted to environments with and without shade. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Cerrados (Technology Center for Dairy Zebu breeds—CTZL), Brasilia, Distrito Federal—Brazil, with 48 Gyr and Girolando cows total in the lactation group, with low to medium milk production, in full sun or shade with Eucalyptus urograndis (267 plants/ha−1). The physiological and behavioral characteristics evaluated were panting score, superficial temperature, and time spent grazing, ruminating, and lying down. Other traits included skin and coat thickness, hair diameter, density and length, and predominant coat color. In addition, body measurements, such as body length, the height of withers, chest circumference, and shin circumference, were measured. Shaded cows had 34% longer rumination times than cows in full sun (p = 0.01). With a temperature-humidity index ranging from 79 to 83, the rumination time was 1.7 times higher in cows under shade (p = 0.01) during a 24-h period of observation. There were no significant differences in the grazing time between the environments, but lying time was 23% longer in cows under the sun (p = 0.01). The panting score was not influenced by the environment (p = 0.17). Girolando cows had a 35% higher panting score than Gyr cows (p = 0.01) regardless of the environment. The panting score increased two and a half times during the afternoon compared with the morning (p = 0.01). The surface and rectal core temperatures had significant differences between treatments and time of the day. Body measurements were not different between cows in both environments, but there was a difference between breeds. The use of trees in pastures with a silvopastoral system for dairy zebu cows is indicated to improve grazing behavior, as well as time spent ruminating and lying down.

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Natural shade from integrated crop–livestock–forestry mitigates environmental heat and increases the quantity and quality of oocytes and embryos produced in vitro by Gyr dairy cows

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Effects of tree arrangements of silvopasture system on behaviour and performance of cattle – a systematic review

Effects of tree arrangements of silvopasture system on behaviour and performance of cattle – a systematic review

Behavior and thermal comfort of light and dark coat dairy cows in the Eastern Amazon

Shade Modifies Behavioral and Physiological Responses of Low to Medium Production Dairy Cows at Pasture in an Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forest System

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