Nutritive Value, In Vitro Fermentation, and Methane Production of Cactus Cladodes, Sugarcane Bagasse, and Urea

Simple SummaryCyclical droughts affecting arid and semiarid regions promote direct negative impacts on agriculture, with deficits of water availability for the maintenance of crops destined for human supply and animal production, with direct and indirect socioeconomic effects. Although livestock rearing is one of the few viable economic activities for these regions, forage production in terms of quantity and quality is a critical obstacle to support the herd over the year. Research was developed to find a forage adapted to these climates. Cactus cladodes have been used as a traditional ingredient in ruminant diets in dry areas as a solution to forage scarcity. Many traditionally used sources of forage, fresh or conserved, can be added to diets with cactus. However, the limiting factor to their inclusion would be market availability and price. This study showed that cactus cladodes associated with sugarcane bagasse (a high available crop residue) present the same nutritive value of conserved crops as silages and hay. Cactus (Opuntia and Nopalea) are essential for ruminant production systems in arid and semiarid regions due to the limitation of forage production caused by the low precipitation.This study evaluated the effect of different roughages fed to sheep on nutrient and water intake, ingestive behavior, nitrogen balance, microbial protein synthesis, fermentation parameters, and methane production using an in vitro gas production system. The treatments consisted of five diets: cactus cladodes Nopalea (NUB) and Opuntia (OUB), both with the addition of sugarcane bagasse (SB) and urea/ammonium sulfate (urea/as); Tifton hay (TH); corn silage (CS); and sorghum silage (SS), also with added urea/as. The NUB provided greater (p <= 0.03) intakes of dry matter (1024 g/d), digestible organic matter (670 g/d), and crude protein (161 g/d) than those on the SS. The NUB provided greater (p < 0.01) dietary water intake (3023 g/d) than TH. The time spent on rumination was shorter (p < 0.01), and the idle time was longer in animals fed NUB and OUB than TH and CS. Microbial protein synthesis was not affected (p = 0.27). The final pH (6.4) of the incubation fluid and the concentration of NH3-N (39.05 mg/dL) were greater for NUB and OUB. Ruminal parameters and methane production were little or not affected by tested forages. We recommend using cactus cladodes in combination with sugarcane bagasse and urea/as in sheep diets

Decomposition of Cattle Dung on Mixed Grass-Legume Pastures

Animal excreta contribute positively to nutrient cycling and can improve the quality of soil (Dubeux et al. 2009, Carvalho et al. 2010). Cattle excrement, when evenly distributed over a pasture, can help to maintain plant nutrition without the application of fertilizers. The introduction of legumes intercropped with grasses benefits the soil by means of nitrogen fixation. Also, when ruminant animals eat legumes, the excrement produced may have lower C:N, C:P, lignin:N and lignin:P ratios promoting better nutrient return to the soil compared to when cattle eat only grass. Given the importance of nutrient return and decomposition time of cattle excreta on pastures, the objective of this study was to evaluate the decomposition of excrement of heifers managed in mixed grass-shrubby legume pastures and grass-only pastures

Preliminary inventory of the anuran fauna of the Mata Estrela Private Natural Heritage Reserve, in the Atlantic Forest of the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Tropical regions harbor the highest amphibian biodiversity, nevertheless, information on species composition is lacking in most areas yet these baseline data are essential to guide conservation strategies. The goal of the present study was to survey the anurans of a Private Natural Heritage Reserve named Mata Estrela, a fragment of about 26 km2 in the Northern Atlantic Forest, Brazil. The study was carried out as an active census in June 2015. We found 27 anuran species assigned to five families: Bufonidae (2 spp.), Craugastoridae (1 sp.), Hylidae (11 spp.), Leptodactylidae (12 spp.) and Phyllomedusidae (1 sp.). All species are widespread in the Atlantic forest as well as in other South American ecoregions. Descriptions of local diversity such as this one are a fundamental baseline for conservation work and are especially needed in the northern limits of the Atlantic forest, for which there is still a huge lack of biological knowledge.Asociación Herpetológica Argentin

Economic and social implications of low-emission development pathways in Brazil

As one of the largest developing economies in the world, Brazil faces huge challenges apart from climate change, such as poverty eradication, reducing inequalities, ensuring food and energy security, social coverage, technological innovation and industrial competitiveness. This paper summarizes an analysis of the social and economic implications of long-term greenhouse gas emissions scenarios in Brazil. Recent studies analyzing low-carbon scenarios for Brazil are reviewed, including the IES-Brasil (Economic and Social Implications of Mitigation Scenarios in Brazil) scenarios up to 2030 and 2050, the latter including an emissions pathway consistent with a 1.5 °C target for limiting global temperature increase. The findings of these studies highlight that, if appropriate policy tools (both command-and-control measures and microeconomic policies) are used to overcome the barriers to mitigation options, a decoupling of economic growth and GHG emissions would be possible without harming economic and social development in Brazil

Economic and social effectiveness of carbon pricing schemes to meet Brazilian NDC targets

Curbing down GHG emissions while preserving economic growth is themain challenge that developing and developed countries are facing tomeet the Paris Agreement commitments. Brazil's NDC target is to reduceeconomy-wide absolute levels of GHG emissions by 37% in 2025 and43% in 2030, compared to 2005 emissions.In this paper, we compare command-and-control and carbon pricingpolicies to induce the Brazilian economy to meet its NDC targets. Ourpaper focuses on analysing synergies and trade-offs in macroeconomicand social development, focusing on economic growth and incomedistribution, while reducing GHG emissions. By integrating a series ofsectorial models and a computable general equilibrium model (CGE), wedevelop and run different policy scenarios which simulate differentcarbon pricing schemes in Brazil. Our analysis shows that NDCimplementation in Brazil under carbon pricing policies allows the countryto meet its targets and improve economic and social indicators comparedto a command-and-control policy. With about the same GHG emissionsup to 2030, important macroeconomic and social co-benefits can beachieved under a carbon pricing policy in Brazil, allowing for reducingwelfare losses against business-as-usual trends

Emission inventory: An urban public policy instrument and benchmark

Global concern with climate change has led to the development of a variety of solutions to monitor and reduce emissions on both local and global scales. Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), both developed and emerging countries have assumed responsibility for developing and updating national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions from anthropic sources. This creates opportunities and incentives for cities to carry out their own local inventories and, thereby, develop air quality management plans including both essential key players and stakeholders at the local level. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of local inventories as an urban public policy instrument and how this type of local instrument may bring advantages countrywide in enhancing the global position of a country. Local inventories have been carried out in many cities of the world and the main advantage of this is that it allows an overview of emissions produced by different municipal activities, thereby, helps decision makers in the elaboration of efficient air quality management plans. In that way, measures aimed at the reduction of fossil fuel consumption to lower local atmospheric pollution levels can also, in some ways, reduce GHG emissions.Greenhouse gases Municipalities Inventory

Economic and social effectiveness of carbon pricing schemes to meet Brazilian NDC targets

International audienceCurbing GHG emissions while preserving economic growth is one of the main challenges that developing countries are facing to meet the Paris Agreement commitments. Brazil's NDC target aims to reduce economy-wide absolute levels of GHG emissions by 37% in 2025 and 43% in 2030, compared to 2005 emissions. In this paper, we compare command-and-control and carbon pricing policies to induce the Brazilian economy to meet its NDC targets. We focus on analysing synergies and trade-offs in macroeconomic and social development, captured by economic growth and income distribution while reducing GHG emissions. By integrating a series of sectoral models and a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, we develop and run different policy scenarios that simulate a set of carbon pricing schemes in Brazil. Our analysis shows that NDC implementation in Brazil under carbon pricing policies allows the country to meet its targets and improve economic and social indicators compared to a command-and-control policy. With about the same GHG emissions up to 2030, important macroeconomic and social co-benefits can be achieved under a carbon pricing policy in Brazil, allowing for reduced welfare losses against business-as-usual trends. Key policy insights Carbon pricing policies are more cost-effective to meet NDC targets in Brazil up to 2030, resulting in higher GDP and household income, in comparison to other individual policy instruments, including command-and-control and subsidies to investments.A carbon price of about 10 USD/tCO2e, combined importantly with deforestation rates under control, would allow Brazil to meet its NDC targets.Recycling carbon pricing revenues can help soften the burden on the labour market and protect low-income households from welfare losses.</ul

Nutritive Value, In Vitro Fermentation, and Methane Production of Cactus Cladodes, Sugarcane Bagasse, and Urea

This study evaluated the effect of different roughages fed to sheep on nutrient and water intake, ingestive behavior, nitrogen balance, microbial protein synthesis, fermentation parameters, and methane production using an in vitro gas production system. The treatments consisted of five diets: cactus cladodes Nopalea (NUB) and Opuntia (OUB), both with the addition of sugarcane bagasse (SB) and urea/ammonium sulfate (urea/as); Tifton hay (TH); corn silage (CS); and sorghum silage (SS), also with added urea/as. The NUB provided greater (p ≤ 0.03) intakes of dry matter (1024 g/d), digestible organic matter (670 g/d), and crude protein (161 g/d) than those on the SS. The NUB provided greater (p &lt; 0.01) dietary water intake (3023 g/d) than TH. The time spent on rumination was shorter (p &lt; 0.01), and the idle time was longer in animals fed NUB and OUB than TH and CS. Microbial protein synthesis was not affected (p = 0.27). The final pH (6.4) of the incubation fluid and the concentration of NH3-N (39.05 mg/dL) were greater for NUB and OUB. Ruminal parameters and methane production were little or not affected by tested forages. We recommend using cactus cladodes in combination with sugarcane bagasse and urea/as in sheep diets