GHG Mitigation in Forage-Based and Conventional Livestock Production Systems in Tropical and Subtropical Climate Regions of the World

Dear Colleagues,

About 80% of the world's cattle population resides in tropical or subtropical regions. Beef and milk production is expected to increase in these regions to feed a growing world population. For example, it is envisaged that beef production needs to increase from 60 million to 130 million tons by 2050 to feed a growing world population, and 70% of this production increase is expected from countries located in subtropical and tropical regions of the world. Dual-purpose cattle systems are dominant in tropical regions because they are well suited to harsh hot climates; however, their productivity is low, whereas their greenhouse emissions are similar to those of temperate climate regions. Perennial C₄ grass species are the dominant forages in tropical and subtropical regions. They are highly resilient to adverse conditions but have reduced nutritive value compared with forages from temperate climates, partly explaining the low cattle productivity. On the other hand, current scientific consensus indicates that C₄ grasses produce high methane (CH₄) yield when cattle consume them.

In contrast, growing evidence suggests that native tropical legume trees used as forage can reduce CH₄ production because of their content of plant secondary metabolites with anti-methanogenic properties, such as polyphenols, condensed tannins and saponins. Furthermore, important efforts have been made in tropical and subtropical regions to adopt agroecological and more sustainable production practices, such as agro-silvopastoral systems, which help to capture atmospheric CO₂ and increase systems' productivity and resilience. However, these initiatives to mitigate the emission of GHG by the cattle industry are small compared with the work conducted in the temperate countries of the northern hemisphere. There is also limited visibility of the progress achieved to mitigate climate change and the important role that dual-purpose cattle play in reducing hunger in the less developed, tropical world. Therefore, this Special Issue welcomes manuscripts that document the effect of tropical tanniferous and saponiferous plants and other feed additives to mitigate CH₄ production; use of agro-silvopastoral and agroecological systems to reduce GHG emissions; improved husbandry practices to increase animal productivity; intensification of dual-purpose cattle production systems, e.g. reduced intensity of emissions; and last but not least, documented efforts conducted to quantify the emissions of GHGs and national inventory preparation of these gases for the warmer regions of the world.

Prof. Dr. Octavio Alonso Castelan Ortega
Guest Editor

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• cattle
• mitigation
• greenhouse gases
• methane
• agro-silvopastoral systems
• intensification
• tropical and subtropical regions
• resilience
• agroecology
• dual-purpose cattle