Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2023
Keywords
Ecosystem; Pasture system; Soil quality; Water content; Cattle weight gain
Abstract
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.
Citation
Amorim, H. C., Ashworth, A., O'Brien, P. L., Thomas, A. L., Runkle, B. R., & Philipp, D. (2023). Temperate Silvopastures Provide Greater Ecosystem Services than Conventional Pasture Systems. Scientific Reports, 13, 18658. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45960-0
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.