Amanda Maria Gallindo dos Santos, Jose Carlos Batista Dubeux, Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos, Suellen Brandão de Miranda Costa, Diego de Lima Côelho, Erick Rodrigo da Silva Santos, Naligia Gomes de Miranda e Silva, Bárbara Marcélia Martins de Oliveira, Valéria Xavier de Oliveira Apolinário, Janerson José Coelho
{"title":"The distance from tree legumes in silvopastoral systems modifies the litter in grass-composed pastures","authors":"Amanda Maria Gallindo dos Santos, Jose Carlos Batista Dubeux, Mércia Virginia Ferreira dos Santos, Suellen Brandão de Miranda Costa, Diego de Lima Côelho, Erick Rodrigo da Silva Santos, Naligia Gomes de Miranda e Silva, Bárbara Marcélia Martins de Oliveira, Valéria Xavier de Oliveira Apolinário, Janerson José Coelho","doi":"10.1017/s0021859624000200","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The use of silvopastoral systems with tree legumes is a viable alternative to recover and develop pastures, as they add N to the system influencing pasture growth. This study hypothesized that the herbage and litter of signalgrass (<span>Urochloa decumbens</span> Stapf) is affected by legume trees in the pasture. Treatments were composed of (1) signalgrass + <span>Mimosa caesalpiniifolia</span> Benth.; (2) signalgrass + <span>Gliricidia sepium</span> Jacq.; and (3) signalgrass monoculture. The 3-year experiment followed a randomized complete block design with three replications. Tree legumes were planted in double rows (15 × 1 × 0.5 m), in 1 ha paddocks. Litter samples were taken in five distance points (0, 1.8, 3.7, 5.6 and 7.5 m) perpendicular to tree legume rows. Signalgrass was taller at longer distances from the trees (<span>P</span> < 0.05). Signalgrass height differed between treatments, with taller signalgrass found in pastures mixed with <span>G. sepium</span> (15.6 cm) compared to <span>M. caesalpiniifolia</span> (9 cm) (<span>P</span> < 0.05). Herbage N content decreased with increasing distance from tree rows (<span>P</span> < 0.05). Litter N content followed a similar pattern, ranging from 23 g/kg under the trees to 12 g/kg at 7.5 m away from tree rows. Signalgrass did not grow under the tree crown (0–1.8 m), especially when intercropped with <span>M. caesalpiniifolia</span>. The findings of this study suggest that the type of legume trees used in the silvopastoral system has the potential to modify the pattern of grass growth and content of N in pasture litter.</p>","PeriodicalId":501199,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of Agricultural Science","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The Journal of Agricultural Science","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859624000200","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The use of silvopastoral systems with tree legumes is a viable alternative to recover and develop pastures, as they add N to the system influencing pasture growth. This study hypothesized that the herbage and litter of signalgrass (Urochloa decumbens Stapf) is affected by legume trees in the pasture. Treatments were composed of (1) signalgrass + Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth.; (2) signalgrass + Gliricidia sepium Jacq.; and (3) signalgrass monoculture. The 3-year experiment followed a randomized complete block design with three replications. Tree legumes were planted in double rows (15 × 1 × 0.5 m), in 1 ha paddocks. Litter samples were taken in five distance points (0, 1.8, 3.7, 5.6 and 7.5 m) perpendicular to tree legume rows. Signalgrass was taller at longer distances from the trees (P < 0.05). Signalgrass height differed between treatments, with taller signalgrass found in pastures mixed with G. sepium (15.6 cm) compared to M. caesalpiniifolia (9 cm) (P < 0.05). Herbage N content decreased with increasing distance from tree rows (P < 0.05). Litter N content followed a similar pattern, ranging from 23 g/kg under the trees to 12 g/kg at 7.5 m away from tree rows. Signalgrass did not grow under the tree crown (0–1.8 m), especially when intercropped with M. caesalpiniifolia. The findings of this study suggest that the type of legume trees used in the silvopastoral system has the potential to modify the pattern of grass growth and content of N in pasture litter.