Extensive Sheep and Goat Production: The Role of Novel Technologies towards Sustainability and Animal Welfare

ReviewSheep and goat extensive production systems are very important in the context of global food security and the use of rangelands that have no alternative agricultural use. In such systems, there are enormous challenges to address. These include, for instance, classical production issues, such as nutrition or reproduction, as well as carbon-efficient systems within the climate-change context. An adequate response to these issues is determinant to economic and environmental sustainability. The answers to such problems need to combine efficiently not only the classical production aspects, but also the increasingly important health, welfare, and environmental aspects in an integrated fashion. The purpose of the study was to review the application of technological developments, in addition to remote-sensing in tandem with other state-of-the-art techniques that could be used within the framework of extensive production systems of sheep and goats and their impact on nutrition, production, and ultimately, the welfare of these species. In addition to precision livestock farming (PLF), these include other relevant technologies, namely omics and other areas of relevance in small-ruminant extensive production: heat stress, colostrum intake, passive immunity, newborn survival, biomarkers of metabolic disease diagnosis, and parasite resistance breeding. This work shows the substantial, dynamic nature of the scientific community to contribute to solutions that make extensive production systems of sheep and goats more sustainable, efficient, and aligned with current concerns with the environment and welfareinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aggregate breakdown and dispersion of soil samples amended with sugarcane vinasse

Soil aggregation is a very complex issue related to important soil attributes and processes. The aggregate breakdown and dispersion of soil samples amended with sugarcane vinasse were evaluated using ultrasonic energy. Vinasse is an important byproduct of sugarcane industries, intensively applied to soils in Brazil as liquid fertilizer. Samples of two Oxisols and one Ultisol were used in this study. The physical and chemical characterization of soils was performed, and the 1 to 2 mm size aggregates (200 g) were packed in PVC columns (6.0 cm high and 4.0 cm internal diameter) and incubated with sugarcane vinasse under lab conditions for 1, 30 and 60 days. After incubation, aggregates were submitted to levels of ultrasonic energy, and the particle size distribution (53 to 2,000 µm, 2 to 53 µm, and < 2 µm fractions) was quantified. Mathematical equations were used to relate the mass of aggregates in each of these fractions to the applied ultrasonic energy, and parameters related to aggregate stability were then obtained. Soils showed an aggregate-hierarchy resulting in a stepwise breakdown under ultrasonic agitation. Considering this soil-aggregation hierarchy, vinasse contributed even in a short time to the bonding between and within 2 to 53 µm aggregates, mainly in the Oxisols. This may be related to organic compounds present in the vinasse, cementing soil particles. Potassium enrichment of soil samples did not contribute to soil dispersion