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Effects of Animal Husbandry on Secondary Production and Trophic Efficiency at a Regional Scale

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Abstract

Agricultural systems are expected to have higher net secondary production (NSP) than natural systems as a result of higher trophic efficiency and lower interannual variability. These differences, however, have not been quantified across regional gradients. We compiled a dataset of herbivore biomass, consumption, NSP, annual precipitation, and aboveground net primary production (ANPP) for extensive livestock farms across a wide precipitation gradient in Argentina. We compared these data with worldwide published studies of natural systems. In a double-logarithmic scale, NSP of agricultural systems increased with ANPP from semiarid to subhumid systems and decreased from subhumid to humid systems, a response that contrasted with the linear positive increase of natural systems. Compared to natural systems dominated by homeotherms, E troph (NSP:ANPP) in agricultural systems in semiarid areas was 8 times higher, due to a 2 times higher E consump (Consumption:ANPP) and a 4 times higher E prod (NSP:Consumption). In subhumid areas, E troph was 46 times higher, due to a 13.7 times higher E consump and a 3.3 times higher E prod. In humid areas, E troph was 5 times higher, due to a 2.5 times higher E consump and a 2 times higher E prod. The interannual variation of herbivore biomass, a major determinant of NSP, was 60 % lower in agricultural than in natural systems dominated by homeotherms, and was decoupled from the variability of precipitation. Agricultural systems reach higher NSP by (1) diverting a major proportion of ANPP from the detritus to the grazing chain, (2) converting more efficiently consumption into NSP, and (3) stabilizing herbivore biomass across years.

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Acknowledgments

Alejandro Lotti, Jorge Latuf. Fernando Pacín, Fernando Canosa and María Cruz De Angelis from CREA movement provided data from different farms of Argentina. We thank C. Feldkamp for feedback on the difference between subtropical and temperate systems. L. Garibaldi, P. Vitousek, and two anonymous reviewers greatly improved a previous version of this manuscript. Gonzalo Irisarri was financed by CONICET and Fundación YPF, through José Estenssoro scholarship. This project was financed by the ANPCyT and the University of Buenos Aires.

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  1. IFEVA-Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires-CONICET, Av. San Martín 4453, C.P:1417, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    J. Gonzalo N. Irisarri, Martín Oesterheld, Rodolfo A. Golluscio & José M. Paruelo

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  1. J. Gonzalo N. Irisarri
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  2. Martín Oesterheld
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  3. Rodolfo A. Golluscio
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  4. José M. Paruelo
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Correspondence to J. Gonzalo N. Irisarri.

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J.G.N. Irisarri and M. Oesterheld gathered data, analyzed it and wrote the paper. R.A. Golluscio and J.M. Paruelo wrote the paper

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Irisarri, J.G.N., Oesterheld, M., Golluscio, R.A. et al. Effects of Animal Husbandry on Secondary Production and Trophic Efficiency at a Regional Scale. Ecosystems 17, 738–749 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9756-6

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