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Shading effect and forage production of tropical grasses in Brazilian semi-arid silvopastoral systems

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Abstract

An experiment was carried out in order to evaluate the effect of shading on the physiology and canopy structural characteristics of tropical grasses under different woody covers in silvopastoral system in the semiarid region of Brazil, in a region known as the Caatinga biome. The experimental area had nine silvopastoral systems arranged in strips of Caatinga vegetation trees (woody component) with dimensions of 6.0 × 100.0 m, positioned in the north–south direction. Among the strips of Caatinga trees, Urochloa mosambicensis, Pennisetum ciliare and Megathyrsus maximus were planted in plots. The treatments were: forage grown under 46.15% of woody cover (SS46), forage grown under 30.00% of woody cover (SS30) and forage grown under 17.64% of woody cover (SS18), each with three replicates. The gas exchange assessments were carried out in 2018 and 2019 for two consecutive days. Structural and production characteristics were evaluated in 2018 and 2019, considering the east, center and west positions. The system SS46 promoted lesser leaf photosynthesis among Pennisetum ciliare and Urochloa mosambicensis. SS46 favored lower tiller population density on grasses. Total forage biomass was lower in SS46 in comparison to SS30 and SS18. Silvopastoral systems SS30 and SS18 can be adopted without compromising the physiological characteristics of Urochloa mosambicensis and Pennisetum ciliare, and the structural and yield characteristics of Urochloa mosambicensis, Megathyrsus maximus and Pennisetum ciliare.

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Source: data obtained from the automatic meteorological station located at UEPE

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for funding the scholarships, the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, Limoeiro do Norte campus, for providing physical space, and the Federal University of Ceará for all the technical support necessary to carry out the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil

    Clemente Fernandes dos Santos Neto, Samuel Rocha Maranhão & Magno José Duarte Cândido

  2. Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, Limoeiro do Norte, Brazil

    Rodrigo Gregório da Silva

  3. Brasilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Sobral, Brazil

    Ana Clara Rodrigues Cavalcante

  4. Federal Rural University of the Amazon, Belém, Brazil

    Vitor Hugo Maues Macedo

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  1. Clemente Fernandes dos Santos Neto
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  2. Rodrigo Gregório da Silva
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  3. Samuel Rocha Maranhão
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  4. Ana Clara Rodrigues Cavalcante
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  5. Vitor Hugo Maues Macedo
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  6. Magno José Duarte Cândido
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Correspondence to Clemente Fernandes dos Santos Neto.

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dos Santos Neto, C.F., da Silva, R.G., Maranhão, S.R. et al. Shading effect and forage production of tropical grasses in Brazilian semi-arid silvopastoral systems. Agroforest Syst 97, 995–1005 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-023-00843-1

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