ana claudia Ruggieri

• PhD
• Professor at São Paulo State University

There is an important gap in how variations in herbivore dung composition affect GHG emissions on pastures, especially due to differences in dry matter (DM) and nitrogen contents. Oversimplifications can compromise the accuracy of mitigation strategies. This study aims to address this gap by investigating how the chemical composition of dung from d...

Resumo O aquecimento global é atribuído ao aumento das emissões de gases de efeito estufa (GEE), como dióxido de carbono (CO2), metano (CH4) e óxido nitroso (N2O). As mudanças no uso da terra têm impactos significativos nas emissões de GEE, sendo responsáveis por aproximadamente 44% das emissões do país em 2019. Essa é uma revisão que aborda as pri...

Global warming is attributed to the increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). Land use changes significantly impact on GHG emissions, accounting for approximately 44% of the country's emissions in 2019. This review addresses the main pathways of GHG formation in the soil, f...

Typical successions in land use affect the dynamics of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in the soil. This study aimed to determine the effects of land use change on soil organic carbon and N content and stocks in pastures, crops, and forests in the Amazon. Soil C and N stocks were assessed at depths of 30 and 100 cm to determine ¹³C isotopic abundance....

In Brazil, urea is the most used nitrogen (N) fertilizer to improve forage production. However, their excessive use can cause environmental impacts through N losses, such as ammonia (NH3) volatilization. Therefore, the current study adjusted and estimated the NH3 volatilization from urea applied on tropical pastures in three rainfall conditions usi...

Methane emissions (CH4) from the soil increase according to changes made in forest soils and adverse edaphoclimatic factors. Soil temperature and nutrients will impact the activity of microorganisms, depending on land use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of land use, temperature, and nitrogen application on CH4 emissions fro...

This study aimed to evaluate the forage mass and nutritional value (NV) of Guinea Massai grass (Megathyrsus maximus × Megathyrsus infestum) in an open pasture (OP) or the silvopastoral system (SPS) at different stages of development (SDs). The experimental design was completely randomized, with five replications. The treatments were distributed in...

This study evaluated under grazing intensities and periods of the year: leaf anatomy of Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés and its correlation with morphogenetic and structural characteristics, and leaves degradation after in situ incubation. Treatments were four grazing intensities (GI) defined by the pasture residuals leaf area index (rLAI 0.8, 1.3, 1...

This study aimed to evaluate the emission factor of N2O, CH4, and the volatilization of NH3 for the combination of feces or urine with increasing doses of ammonium nitrate in tropical palisade grass pastures. The emission of greenhouse gases was assessed in eight treatments combining feces and urine with doses (75 and 150 kg of N ha⁻¹) of ammonium...

Pasture management and greenhouse gases emissions. Abstract Pastures are important environments worldwide because they offer many ecosystem services and sustain meat and milk production. However, pastures ecosystems are responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The major GHGs include CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O. The present review summarizes GHG e...

Context Energy supplementation with highly fermentable carbohydrates can be a strategy to maximise the efficiency of nitrogen use (ENU) from high-nutritional value forages. Aims The study aimed to investigate the independent or associated effects of two diurnal feeding times (0900 or 1700 hours) with two sources of energy supplementation (corn or...

Pastures are important environments worldwide because they offer many ecosystem services and sustain meat and milk production. However, pastures ecosystems are responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The major GHGs include CO2, CH4, and N2O. The present review summarizes GHG emission from pasture ecosystems and discusses strategies to mitiga...

Condensed tannins are a potentially important treatment option to mitigate N2O (nitrous oxide) and affect carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions; however, their effect has been poorly assessed. Here, we quantified the emissions of N2O, CH4, and CO2, soil N mineralization, and nitrification with increasing doses of condensed tannins added...

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the main gases emitted from soils, and the changes in land use in the Amazon may alter gas emission patterns. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of land use, temperature, and nitrogen on N2O emissions in soils in the Amazon. For this, three treatments randomized, with five repetitions, were incubat...

We evaluated the effects of different sources of nitrogen (N) applied to pastures of Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu during the rainy season on the efficiency of N use in plants and animals. Continuous grazing with variable stocking rates was employed to maintain 25 cm pasture height, corresponding to 95% light interception. The experimental design...

Silvopastoral systems are suggested to be important strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. However, little information is available on the effects of these systems on soil nitrous oxide (N2O) production. Expanding the knowledge of N2O emissions and the responses of key variables that drive N2O production are essential for understanding...

Simple Summary Deterioration of forage quality as the dry season approaches has detrimental effects on the performance of cattle grazing tropical grasses unless supplementation strategies are implemented. In this study, corn was replaced by citrus pulp as an energy source to evaluate the effects of supplementation on liveweight performance and meta...

The purpose of this research was to evaluate how different grazing sward heights (15, 25, 35 cm) change the frequency of tiller visitation, morphogenesis, structural characteristics , tillering dinamic of palisadegrass (Urochloa brizantha) managed under continuous stocking. Método: The experimental design adopted was randomized blocks with three tr...

Pasture intensification through higher stocking rates, nitrogen fertilization and intensified grazing management in beef cattle production optimizes pasture use by increasing the forage harvested. We aimed to assess its effects on the morphogenesis and canopy structure of Urochloa brizantha ‘Marandu’ (marandu palisadegrass) pastures. The treatments...

The reduction in ammonia (NH3) losses from volatilization has significant implications in forage production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of N fertilizers (urea, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium sulfate) and four doses (0, 90, 180 and 270 kg N ha⁻¹) on N losses by NH3 volatilization, accumulation, and forage chemical composi...

Supplementation of grazing cattle may improve forage utilization, methane emission and efficiency of nutrients use. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different supllementation strategies on performance, metabolic parameters and methane emission in Nellore cattle reared on well-managed marandu palisadegrass (Urochloa brizantha cv Marandu) p...

Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) is a developing region characterized for its importance for global food security, producing 23 and 11% of the global beef and milk production, respectively. The region's ruminant livestock sector however, is under scrutiny on environmental grounds due to its large contribution to enteric methane (CH4) emissions and...

The effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization levels on protein and carbohydrate fractions in Marandu palisadegrass pasture [Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) R.D. Webster] were investigated in a pasture over five years. The experimental design was completely randomized with four levels of N (0, 90, 180, and 270 kg N ha⁻¹, as urea) for five year...

Context Integrating trees and pastures can provide benefits to grazing animals in warm climates, such as provision of shade during the excessive heat. Aim Our aim was to evaluate the effects of two arrangements of trees on grass production and behavioural, physiological and blood parameters of crossbred lambs grazing massai grass (Megathyrsus maxi...

ALFAFA CULTURE AND HIS MULTIPLES USES IN ANIMAL AND HUMAN FEEDING

The intensification of pasture production has increased the use of N fertilizers—a practice that can alter soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the fluxes of CH4, CO2, and N2O in the soil of Urochloa brizantha ‘Marandu’ pastures fertilized with different sources and doses of N. Two field experiments w...

As avaliações da produção de CH4 entérico ocorrem desde 2012. No trabalho de Barbero et al. (2015) que avaliaram diferente alturas de manejo do capim marandu (15, 25 e 35 cm) a produção diária de CH4 foi igual a 128 g animal-1 dia-1 nos animais de 335 kg de peso corporal. O fator de emissão obtido corrigindo para um animal de 430 foi de 60 kg anima...

Os fatores de emissão diferem de acordo com o tipo de excreta bovina (fezes versus urina) e por estação climática; • O fator de emissão da urina foi 0,67%; e fezes, 0,41% do N aplicado, bem abaixo dos 2% preconizados pelo IPCC; • Durante a estação chuvosa o fator de emissão da urina é igual a 1,02% do N excretado e na estação seca igual a 0,32%; •...

Palisadegrass [Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) R. D. Webster cv. Marandu] is widely used in Brazil and is typically managed with little or no N fertilizer, which often leads to pasture decline in the long-term. The current relationship between beef price and fertilizer cost in Brazil does not favor fertilizer use in pastures. Legume inclus...

In warm-climate grasslands, litter deposition and decomposition are one of the main pathway of nutrient cycling. The application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer or the inclusion of a legume in such grasslands modifies litter characteristics and chemical composition. This study evaluated how the N supply of palisadegrass [Urochloa brizantha (Hochst. ex A...

The inclusion of corn-dried distillers’ grains (DDG) could be an alternative supplement to increase animal performance, nitrogen efficiency usage (NEU), and decrease enteric methane (CH4) emissions. Our goal was to determine whether DDG could replace a traditional supplement (cottonseed meal) without affecting animal performance, N balance, and CH4...

A 7 year experiment (2008–2014) evaluated cattle grazing intensity (sward height) effects on herbage mass, forage quality, and greenhouse gas emissions in continuously stocked pastures containing the tropical ‘Marandu’ palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst. ex A. Rich) Stapf cv. Marandu). The experiment consisted of three sward height treatm...

Greenhouse gases are known to play an important role in global warming. In this study, we determined the effects of selected soil and climate variables on nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from a tropical grassland fertilized with chicken slurry, swine slurry, cattle slurry, and cattle compost. Cumulative N2O em...

Intensification of tropical grassland can be a strategy to increase beef production, but methods for achieving this should maintain or reduce its environmental impact and should not compromise future food-producing capacity. The objective of this review was to discuss the aspects of grassland management, animal supplementation, the environment, and...

A atividade enzimática do solo reflete a atividade dos microrganismos que decompõem a matéria orgânica e liberam nutrientes às plantas. O objetivo foi avaliar a atividade enzimática no solo de pastos de cultivares de Brachiaria manejados sob as ofertas de forragem de 4, 7, 10 e 13 kg MS/100 kg PC. O método de pastejo adotado foi mob-stocking, com q...

This study evaluated how changing the structure of Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu pasture under different forage allowances (FA) of 4, 7, 10 and 13kg DM/100kg BW (body weight) affected animal behavior over a two-year evaluation period. The experiment was conducted as a randomized block design with three replications (paddock). Sward height, total...

In this study we conducted four field trials (two wet- and two dry-season) to quantify N2O and CH4 emissions, NH3 volatilization, and N2O emission factors (EF3PRP) following the application of cattle dung, urine, dung plus urine, and urea fertilizer on a palisade-grass pastureland in Brazil. The EF3PRP differed with treatment and season. Wet season...

Os estudos de mapeamento digital de classes de solos (MDS) têm utilizado mapas legados como principal fonte de informação para calibração dos modelos preditores. Entretanto, são necessárias novas abordagem com técnicas que permitam o uso de informações contidas em perfis de solos georreferenciados, permitindo a aplicação do MDS em áreas amostradas...

A three-year-long field experiment was conducted in a continuous grazing system with a variable stocking rate to evaluate effects of increasing nitrogen levels in Marandu grass (Brachiaria brizantha Hochst ex A. Rich Stapf “marandu”) on herbage mass, forage accumulation rate (FAR), forage quality, stocking rate (SR), average daily gain (ADG), gain...

The effect of mineral salts on water ingestion and urine volume in cattle has been extensively studied. However, recently, this effect has been investigated as a potential mitigator of environmental aspects related to the nitrogen (N) cycle, such as nitrate (NO3−) lixiviation, ammonia (NH3) volatilisation, and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions. The eff...

Ammonia (NH3) is a large source of environmental contamination from nitrogen usage. The objective of this study was to evaluate NH3 losses from urine and dung of cattle grazed in Marandu-grass pastures (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu) with different sources of nitrogen. The experiment consisted of two factors (pasture management and excreta type)...

Few options have been found to mitigate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions in grazing systems, which requires attention, by the researches. The aim of this study was to determine N2O emissions from excreta of cattle grazed in Marandu-grass pastures (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu) with different sources of nitrogen. The experiment consisted of two fac...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of heat stress on animal welfare by determining blood cortisol and acute-phase proteins of sheep under silvopastoral systems or under full sun, during rainy season in Jaboticabal, Brazil. Twenty-four male crossbred Santa Inês × Dorper lambs (23 ± 3.3 kg BW) were distributed in a complete random...

Soil moisture and compaction, and source of N and bovine urine can reduce methane (CH4) rates from agricultural soils. However, the magnitude of the effect is unknown in tropical soil under different conditions, as well as the potential of different urine-N concentration, volume, and sources of N in such an effect. This study aimed to investigate t...

A ingestão de proteínas de origem animal provocou um aumento no tamanho do cérebro dos seres humanos que posteriormente associada a conquista do fogo possibilitou o desenvolvimento de ferramentas e o estabelecimento da civilização. Na sociedade contemporânea, modernas técnicas são utilizadas para a produção de animais. Porém, a produção de alimento...

Oferta de forragem pode ser utilizada como uma estratégia de manejo do pastejo, já que considera tanto a planta quanto o animal. Assim, o objetivo foi avaliar a estrutura pré e pós-pastejo de pastos de Brachiaria brizantha cv. Xaraés manejados sob as ofertas de forragem de 4; 7; 10 e 13 kg de matéria seca (MS)/100 kg de peso corporal (PC). Os pasto...

Introduction of forage legumes into tropical forage pastures is an alternative for nitrogen input due to the biological nitrogen fixation made by legumes as well as the higher nutritive value. The aims of this study were to evaluate the forage production and accumulation of marandu grass, intercropped with forage peanut (mixed) or fertilized with u...

Nowadays farm producers are looking for alternatives to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. One of the options is the inclusion of legumes into grasslands. Legumes can contribute with nitrogen and the high nutritive value to the animal production system based on grassland. This research aimed to evaluate the forage disappearance of Marandu grass in a mi...

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas with a global warming potential ranging from 265 to 298 in a 100years horizon. The main sources of N2O are fertilizers applications and animal excretion. By far the most widely used method of measuring fluxes of N2O between soil and the atmosphere is based on the closed static chamber. In this meth...

Grassland areas cover approximately 25% of the Earth surface. In tropical countries like Brazil most of the cattle production in based on extensive pastures. Recently has been advocated that the grassland intensification trough grazing management can be an alternative to mitigate greenhouse gases emissions. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important green...

Increasing attention is being paid to the importance of N2O emissions due to livestock activities in tropical countries. Understanding the key variables driving N2O emission could help minimize impacts of N2O release and improve the accuracy of N2O inventories. We aimed to investigate the effects of soil moisture, soil compaction, urine composition...

Global climate change has intensified in recent years, the main cause of which is attributed to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. The three main GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Animal production operations can be a big emitter of these gases. The present paper reviews the...

Methane (CH4) is an important greenhouse gas. Its global warming potential is approximately 32 times higher than that of carbon dioxide (CO2). Animal feces is the main source of CH4 in grassland sites. It has been speculated that methanogenic and methanotrophic microorganism activity can be affected by nitrogen source and, consequently, CH4 fluxes....

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence of shade on the behavior of grazing lambs during dry season in Jaboticabal, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The climate in Jaboticabal is classified as tropical-Aw, and the dry season starts in June, when this study occurred. Massai grass (Panicum maximum × Panicum infestum) was used as the forage and...

Since the industrial revolution, the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere has been increasing, leading to observed global warming. Increases in the greenhouse gases (GHG) concentration in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), are appointed to be responsible for these changes. In a livestock system ba...

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third most important greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential 300 times more than carbon dioxide. The main sources of N2O in grassland soils are nitrogen fertilizers application and animal excretion. The objective of this research was to test the hypothesis that KCl can inhibit N2O emissions from soil. The experime...

The aim of this study was to evaluate performance, feed efficiency, and carcass and meat characteristics of sheep in a feedlot coming from silvopastoral system during the dry season in Jaboticabal, state of São Paulo, in Brazil. For the growth phase, 24 lambs (23 ± 2.4 kg BW) were distributed into 3 treatments—unshaded, which is unshaded Massai gra...

Greenhouse gases (GHG) can be affected by grazing intensity, soil, and climate variables. This study aimed at assessing GHG emissions from a tropical pasture of Brazil to evaluate (i) how the grazing intensity affects the magnitude of GHG emissions; (ii) how season influences GHG production and consumption; and (iii) what are the key driving variab...

The objective of the present study was to assess the relationship between residual feed intake (RFI) evaluated in a feedlot-performance test and on pasture, and to determine the effect of feedlot RFI classification on enteric methane (CH4) production in the feedlot and on pasture. Seventy-three animals (25 with a low RFI, 24 with a medium RFI and 2...

Three sward heights (15, 25 and 35 cm) and three supplement types (energy, energy-protein, and a mineral mix supplement) were evaluated in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement distributed in a completely randomized design to study changes in forage search patterns in Nellore heifers in a continuous grazing system. Pasture data were collected using two rep...

The ideal time to start grazing is when pastures reach 95% light interception. The use of residual leaf area index (rLAI) to time the interruption of grazing under intermittent grazing has recently been studied in forage species in different climatic conditions in Brazil. However, studies evaluating the formation and development of leaves and tille...

The study assessed a tropical pasture in Brazil to determine how grazing height and season influences N2O production and consumption. Nitrous oxide fluxes were measured over 2 yr in a Marandu palisade grass pasture with 3 grazing heights (15, 25, and 35 cm), 6 replicates, and 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) using static closed chamber...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pasture management during the rainy–dry transition season in Jaboticabal, Brazil, on the structural and tillering characteristics of Marandu palisade grass. The treatments were as follows: 15 cm sward height in the rainy season and ungrazed in the rainy–dry transition season (15/0); 25 cm sw...

This study compared the effect of residual leaf area index (rLAI) on the spatial distribution of morphological components of Tifton 85 (Cynodon spp.) pastures and the ingestive behaviour of grazing sheep. Also, it was investigated whether any specific correlation could be found between pasture structural characteristics and sheep ingestive behaviou...

This study aimed to evaluate intake and ingestive behavior of goats rotationally grazing Tanzania (Panicum maximum cv. Tanzânia 1) pastures with 2 levels of post-grazing residue. The experimental area consisted of 1.2 ha of Tanzania pasture divided into 12 paddocks (24 areas), managed under 2 post-grazing residues: low green (leaf + stem) herbage m...

This study aimed to evaluate three Brachiaria brizantha cultivars (Marandu, Piatã and Xaraés) in three cut ages, as the chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and quantitative anatomy. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design arranged in a factorial design, three cultivars, three cut ages and two insertion levels (apical...

This study aimed to evaluate three Brachiaria brizantha cultivars (Marandu, Piatã and Xaraés) in three cut ages, as the chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and quantitative anatomy. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design arranged in a factorial design, three cultivars, three cut ages and two insertion levels (apical...

In the present study, the effect of grazing intensity (GI) and feed supplementation in sixty-four crossbred Santa Inês lambs was assessed based on performance, blood stress indicators, and metabolic profiles. The GIs analyzed were VH = very high, H = high, L = low, and VL = very low, and were represented by the residual leaf area index (LAIr). The...

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of grazing height and supple-mentation levels of Marandu pastures on average daily gain (ADG), gain per hectare (GPH)and methane (CH4) emissions during the wet season under continuous stocking by Neloreyearling bulls. Exp. 1: three grazing heights were evaluated: 15, 25 and 35 cm, combinedwith...

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos dos índices de área foliar residual (IAFr), dos anos de avaliação e dos ciclos de pastejo sobre as modificações na estrutura vertical do dossle, bem como a proporção de componentes morfológicos de pastos capim-xaraés submetidos a intensidades de pastejo, durante dois verões. O experimento foi conduzi...

The nutritional status of xaraes palisade grass with SPAD chlorophyll meter and the critical nitrogen sufficiency index (cNSI) in the dry and rainy seasons were assessed. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments (50, 100, 200 and 400 kg N ha−1), three replicates and two seasons: dry and rainy. All variable...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of beef heifers on Stapf. cv. Marandu grass pastures that were managed at three herbage allowances under continuous grazing with a variable stocking rate and were provided with mineral mix supplement or supplements with energy and protein. Seventy-two test heifers and 48 put-and-take heife...

Soil CO2 emission (ECO2) is a process determined by biotic and abiotic factors influenced by land use and management practices. In grassland ecosystems, grazing intensity may affect carbon input from plants into soil, and thus may also change soil respiration rate. Indeed, limited information is available regarding the effects of grazing management...

Crop-livestock integrated systems have been identified as an excellent option to use land efficiently. This study investigates how the intercropping between corn and three palisade grass cultivars affects the species productivity and the physiological and structural characteristics of swards grazed under 95% light interception under mob stocking. E...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the structure of Tanzania grassland grazed by goats managed with different residue leaf area index (RLAI) under intermittent stocking. The experiment was carried out from February to August, 2008. The treatments consisted of three different targets RLAI (0.8, 1.6 and 2.4) and 95% light interception (LI) c...

Livestock are identified as major emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), especially enteric CH4. Use of vaccines, changes in animal diets and other techniques are discussed as option for reduction this emissions. However, the reduction in the herd by increasing production efficiency may represent a more effective reduction in greenhouse gas emissions....

Abstract Text: This study aimed providing condensed tannin (Schinopsis quebracho) to reduce methane (CH4 ) emission and if it keeps through time. 12 Anglo Nubian breed goats were used with an average 56 kg of body weight (BW) in Tanzaniagrass (Panicum maximum) pasture with access to water and mineral salt managed under intermittent stocking with 11...