Quantifying the Contributing Potential of European Grasslands to Food Protein and Organic Manure in a Circular Food System

IF 2.7 3区 农林科学 Q1 AGRONOMY
Catherine Pfeifer, Ramon Winterberg, Florian Leiber
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Abstract

This paper evaluates the role of grasslands in a circular food system in Europe by assessing the animal-sourced food and manure production potential of a grass-fed dual-purpose cattle system. A computational model integrated grassland yield estimates, livestock productivity data, and nitrogen balance calculations. Two scenarios, varying in calf fattening duration, were analysed to explore their impacts on livestock numbers, protein production, and nutrient cycling, with the aim of assessing different levels of meat production from grassland. Transitioning to a solely grass-fed dual-purpose cattle system reduces bovine numbers across most European countries. However, despite fewer animals, dual-purpose production can increase bovine protein production in some countries, such as France and Ireland, compared to current levels. This is because dual-purpose cattle produce both milk and meat, with milk providing a higher protein conversion efficiency from grassland than meat. As a result, countries currently producing more meat than milk can partially offset the loss in protein resulting from the reduction in animal numbers. Dual-purpose cattle alone generally cannot meet current animal-sourced protein demands, especially in regions where bovine production depends heavily on concentrate feeds. They may only in some countries provide sufficient animal-sourced food to meet the nationally defined requirements of a healthy diet or generate enough manure to maintain soil fertility without additional nutrient input. Future research should aim to improve the accuracy of grassland yield estimates across Europe and develop context-specific livestock strategies to address these challenges.

Abstract Image

在循环粮食系统中量化欧洲草原对食物蛋白质和有机肥的贡献潜力
本文通过评估草饲两用牛系统的动物源性食物和粪便生产潜力,评估了草地在欧洲循环食物系统中的作用。计算模型综合了草地产量估算、牲畜生产力数据和氮平衡计算。分析了犊牛育肥时间不同的两种情景,探讨了它们对牲畜数量、蛋白质产量和养分循环的影响,目的是评估不同水平的草地肉类产量。在大多数欧洲国家,过渡到完全草饲的双重用途牛系统减少了牛的数量。然而,尽管动物数量减少,但与目前水平相比,双重用途生产可以增加一些国家(如法国和爱尔兰)的牛蛋白产量。这是因为双用途牛既产奶又产肉,其中奶比肉能提供更高的草地蛋白质转化效率。因此,目前肉类产量高于牛奶产量的国家可以部分抵消因动物数量减少而造成的蛋白质损失。单靠双重用途牛通常无法满足目前动物源性蛋白质的需求,特别是在牛生产严重依赖浓缩饲料的地区。它们可能只在一些国家提供足够的动物源食品以满足国家规定的健康饮食要求,或产生足够的粪肥以保持土壤肥力,而无需额外的养分投入。未来的研究应致力于提高整个欧洲草原产量估算的准确性,并制定针对具体情况的牲畜战略来应对这些挑战。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Grass and Forage Science
Grass and Forage Science 农林科学-农艺学
CiteScore
5.10
自引率
8.30%
发文量
37
审稿时长
12 months
期刊介绍: Grass and Forage Science is a major English language journal that publishes the results of research and development in all aspects of grass and forage production, management and utilization; reviews of the state of knowledge on relevant topics; and book reviews. Authors are also invited to submit papers on non-agricultural aspects of grassland management such as recreational and amenity use and the environmental implications of all grassland systems. The Journal considers papers from all climatic zones.
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