Silvopastoral arrangements with Alnus acuminata and their effect on productive and nutritional parameters of the forage component

Abstract

Silvopastoral systems (SPS) are an alternative for sustainable livestock production. For this reason, the present study was developed with the aim of evaluating productive and nutritional parameters of the forage component (FC) in different silvopastoral arrangements with Alnus acuminata and their comparison with open field systems. A randomized complete block design was established, for which 16 plots with characteristics of homogeneity in age and type of FC were selected. The floristic composition, functional classification of herbaceous species, biomass, dry matter and nutritional composition were evaluated. The results obtained recorded the presence of 22 species, with the family Poaceae (8 species) predominating, it was also found that silvopastoral arrangements have the highest percentage of desirable species, a situation contrary to what happened in open field systems. On the other hand, the productive and nutritional parameters showed significant differences (P<0.05) between the production systems, being the arrangement with trees in alleys the one that registered better yields of biomass (16.60 t /ha), dry matter (3.65 t/ha), crude fiber (27.23 %), total protein (17.39 %) and gross energy (4,864 kcal/kg).