LIVESTOCK ELEMENT IN AGRICULTURAL INTEGRATION SYSTEMS: NUTRITIVE VALUE OF PASTURE, CONSUMPTION AND CH4 EMISSIONICLF. Methane enteric. Urochloa.
The integrated crop-livestock (ICL) and crop-livestock-forest (ICLF) systems have been increasingly suggested as sustainable production alternatives, besides being collaborators in the mitigation of greenhouse gases. However, for the potential benefits of these alternatives to be realized, it is fundamental to understand facts related to the plant-animal interface. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional quality of grazing, nutrient intake and the emission of enteric CH4 by dairy heifers in ICL and ICLF systems. In order to evaluate the nutritional quality, the bromatological composition and the in situ degradability of the grass Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés under grazing on both systems. The in situ degradability assay was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three non-lactating, non-lactating cows with rumen cannula, which received shrimp samples from both systems incubated at 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 hours. To evaluate the intake and emission of enteric CH4, an experiment was conducted in a 2x2 crossover design, considering two integration systems (ICL and ICLF) and two experimental periods. In order to do so, eight Holstein x Gir heifers were used, with mean age of 25 ± 6.8 months and 268 ± 83 kg of live weight, divided into two homogenous groups for age, blood level and weight. Intake was estimated from the relationship between daily fecal production and in vitro dry matter digestibility. The estimate of the enteric methane emission was based on the model CH4 (MJ.dia-1) = 71.47 (± 22.14) × (1 - exp (-0.0156 (± 0.0051) × DMI)), R2 = 0.826. Where DMI = dry matter intake kg.day-1. The ICL xaraés grass showed the highest effective degradability of NDF at 2%.h-1 flow rate in relation to the ICLF grass (46.38 vs 44.98%). However, the potential degradability of crude protein was higher in the grass of the ICLF system (68.92 vs 65.40%). The intake of DM, CP and NDF did not differ among the systems, however, the consumption of TDN (61.81 vs 5.75), NFC (2.34 vs 1.65) and TC (8.13 vs 6.73) were higher in the ICL system compared to ICLF (P <0.06). The CH4 emission in MJ.CPI-1 (10.94 vs 8.40) was lower in MJ.TDNI-1 (1.47 vs 1.53), MJ.NFCI-1 (4.26 vs 5.36) and MJ.TCI-1 (1.23 vs 1.31) higher in the ICLF than in the ICL system (P <0.001), however, the emission of CH4 g.dia-1, MJ.dia-1, g.DMI-1, MJ.DMI-1 and MJ.NDFI-1 did not differ between systems (P> 0.05). The presence of trees in the pasture interferes with the nutritional composition of the Xaraés grass, with an increase in the content and degradability of protein, and a decrease in the degradability of fiber. Dairy heifers kept in ICL and ICLF grazing systems Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés do not differ in the intake of DM and the daily enteric methane emission per animal.