Plants used to feed ruminants in semi-arid Brazil: A study of nutritional composition guided by local ecological knowledge

Nunes, Alissandra Trajano; Cabral, Daniela Lyra Vasconcelos; Amorim, Elba Lúcia Cavalcanti de; Santos, Mércia Virgínia Ferreira dos; Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.08.015

Cited by 46 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Grazing can promote shorter woody and herbaceous species (Cingolani et al 2005 with tougher leaves (Díaz et al 2001), resulting in species that tolerate grazing, or are avoided by grazers (Díaz et al 2001, Cingolani et al 2005. Cattle and goat are generally selective about which resources they consume and probably eat more edible (Albuquerque 1999 and nutrient-rich (Nunes et al 2016) saplings and seedlings, i.e. plants with lower stem specific density and softer leaves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic human disturbance affects plant trait distribution in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Sfair

Bello

França

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The effects of human disturbance on biodiversity can be mediated by environmental conditions, such as water availability, climate and nutrients. In general, disturbed, dry or nutrient-depleted soils areas tend to have lower taxonomic diversity. However, little is known about how these environmental conditions affect functional composition and intraspecific variability in tropical dry forests. We studied a seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) under chronic anthropogenic disturbance (CAD) along rainfall and soil nutrient gradients to understand how these factors influence the taxonomic and functional composition. Specifically we evaluated two aspects of CAD, wood extraction and livestock pressure (goat and cattle grazing), along soil fertility and rainfall gradients on shrub and tree traits, considering species turnover and intraspecific variability. In addition, we also tested how the traits of eight populations of the most frequent species are affected by wood extraction, livestock pressure, rainfall and soil fertility. In general, although CAD and environmental gradients affected each trait of the most widespread species differently, the most abundant species also had a greater variation of traits. Considering species turnover, wood extraction is associated with species with a smaller leaf area and lower investment in leaf mass, probably due to the indirect effects of this disturbance type on the vegetation, i.e. the removal of branches and woody debris clears the vegetation, favouring species that minimize water loss. Livestock pressure, on the other hand, affected intraspecific variation: the herbivory caused by goats and cattle promoted individuals which invest more in wood density and leaf mass. In this case, the change of functional composition observed is a direct effect of the disturbance, such as the decrease of palatable plant abundance by goat and cattle herbivory. In synthesis, CAD, rainfall and soil fertility can affect trait distribution at community and species levels, which can have significant implications for the ecosystem functioning of SDTF under increasing levels of disturbance, climate change and soil nutrient depletion.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chronic human disturbance affects plant trait distribution in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Sfair

Bello

França

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…Santos et al (2017b), studying the nutritional potential of six forage plants found in the Caatinga, verified that the species Bauhinia cheilantha, Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, Leucaena leucocephala and Gliricidia sepium displayed high level of protein linked to the neutral detergent fiber (NDF), where the first two had their high levels of protein linked to the acid detergent fiber (ADF), which represents unavailability of the crude protein present in the forage. In other study, Nunes et al (2016) studying antinutritional factors in 30 forage species found in the Brazilian semiarid, verified that 90% of the plants presented low levels of tannins and lignin, what made them suitable for the utilization in the diet of the ruminants.…”

Section: Literature Review: Characterization Of the Brazilian Semiarimentioning

confidence: 75%

Practices for the improvement of the agricultural resilience of the forage production in semiarid environment: a review

Souza¹,

Silva²,

Souza³

et al. 2019

Amaz. Jour. of Plant Resear.

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Water scarcity, climatic conditions and low availability of fodder produced in Caatinga are some of the main problems faced by farmers in the Brazilian semiarid region. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to review some agricultural resilience practices that aim to increase forage production in the Brazilian semiarid. Several studies have shown that the use of fodder plants tolerant to this type of environment is essential to improve the production of ruminant feed. Among these, we highlight the forage cactus, which is rich in water, energy and minerals and highly tolerant to water deficit. Millet, in turn, is another plant that adapts to this environment, presenting better nutritional characteristics, besides being a more fibrous vegetable, and can be associated with cactus in the diet of the herds. This association can be done through the intercropping, which allows the simultaneous cultivation of two or more species in the same area, aiming at the most efficient use of available natural resources. The use of irrigation events with minimal and regular water use in cactus crops has been shown to be a very promising practice. However, the scarcity of this resource in semiarid regions, adding to this increasing salt concentrations in the springs, requires proper management. Additionally, other agricultural resilience practices, such as mulching, can directly contribute to reducing the need for irrigation, conserving soil moisture, decreasing soil thermal amplitude, improving its chemical, physical and biological properties, contributing to improved agricultural yields.

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“…In addition to the already existing factors that hinder agricultural production and the sustainability of BSA populations, several studies show a strong trend towards impacts in this region due to climate changes, such as the reduction of agricultural and livestock productivity, with an increase in the air temperature and the reduction of rainfall (Silva et al, 2017c;Marengo et al, 2017;Mariano et al, 2018). Due to the susceptibility of the agricultural ecosystems and of the Caatinga to the climate changes, livestock farming emerged as the main mean of financial support of the rural population (Nunes et al, 2016;Silva et al, 2017c).…”

Section: Literature Review Characterization Of the Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In BSA, forages are the main source of food for domestic ruminants, where more than 70% of the known species that make up the Caatinga flora expressively take part of the diet of cattle, goats and sheep (Coutinho et al, 2013;Nunes et al, 2016). Even with all this importance in animal feeding, native pastures are strongly influenced by rainfall, being abundant in the rainy season and limited or almost null in the dry periods of the year, resulting in a fall in the production of livestock and socioeconomic losses to the producers of this region (Alves et al, 2014b).…”

Section: Literature Review Characterization Of the Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The application of agrometeorological techniques contributes to the agricultural resilience of forage cactus: A review

Alves¹,

Jardim²,

Souza³

et al. 2018

Amaz. Jour. of Plant Resear.

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The Brazilian semi-arid is an area that has a strong influence on climatic factors and agricultural vulnerability, which govern the availability and supply of fodder. The understanding of the limitations and the alternatives to be adopted, aid in the improvement of the systems of production of fodder and an increase in the benefits of the system. In this review, we sought to address agrometeorological aspects and agronomic techniques aimed at improving resilience in forage cactus production systems under different cropping systems in arid and semi-arid environments through information on the stability of the plant population contributing to reducing the risk environmental degradation and production losses.

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Plants used to feed ruminants in semi-arid Brazil: A study of nutritional composition guided by local ecological knowledge

Cited by 46 publications

References 18 publications

Chronic human disturbance affects plant trait distribution in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Chronic human disturbance affects plant trait distribution in a seasonally dry tropical forest

Practices for the improvement of the agricultural resilience of the forage production in semiarid environment: a review

The application of agrometeorological techniques contributes to the agricultural resilience of forage cactus: A review

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