System fertilization improves soil quality and increases primary production in an integrated crop-livestock system

doi:10.1016/j.jia.2025.03.002

Journal of Integrative Agriculture ›› 2025, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (9): 3671-3688.DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.03.002

收稿日期:2024-08-13 修回日期:2025-03-11 接受日期:2025-01-15 出版日期:2025-09-20 发布日期:2025-08-11

System fertilization improves soil quality and increases primary production in an integrated crop-livestock system

Vicente José Laamon Pinto Simões^1#, Lóren Pacheco Duarte¹, Rafaela Dulcieli Daneluz Rintzel², Amanda Posselt Martins², Tales Tiecher², Leonardo Dallabrida Mori¹, Carolina Bremm¹, Marco Aurélio Carbone Carneiro³, Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho¹

¹Department of Forage Plants and Agrometeorology, Integrated Crop-Livestock System Research Group (GPSIPA), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91540-000, Brazil
²Department of Soil Science, Interdisciplinary Research Group on Environmental Biogeochemistry (IRGEB), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91540-000, Brazil
³Laboratory of Soil Microbiology and Environmental Geochemistry, Department of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37200-000, Brazil

Received:2024-08-13 Revised:2025-03-11 Accepted:2025-01-15 Online:2025-09-20 Published:2025-08-11
About author:#Correspondence Vicente José Laamon Pinto Simões, E-mail: laamoneng.agro@gmail.com
Supported by:
This study was funded by the Fundação Agrisus through project code ‘PA3010/20’, and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brasil, under Finance Code 001.

摘要/Abstract

Abstract:

Managing fertilization in integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) during periods of low nutrient export, known as system fertilization, can optimize nutrient use by enhancing the soil’s biochemical and physical-hydric properties. However, interdisciplinary studies on processes that improve input utilization in ICLS remain scarce. This study aimed to assess the relationships between the efficiencies of different nutrient management strategies in ICLS and pure crop systems (PCS) and the biochemical and physical-hydric quality of soil. Two fertilization strategies (system fertilization and crop fertilization) and two cropping systems (ICLS and PCS) were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replicates. In the PCS, soybean was grown followed by ryegrass as a cover crop. In the ICLS, sheep grazed on the ryegrass. In the crop fertilization, phosphorus and potassium were applied to the soybean planting, and nitrogen was applied in the ryegrass establishment. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were applied during ryegrass establishment in the system fertilization. Soil quality indexes were calculated using fourteen physical-hydric and biochemical soil indicators, and primary production and nutrient utilization efficiency were evaluated. System fertilization in ICLS enhanced the soil functions of water storage and availability for plants, structural stability, and resistance to degradation. System fertilization in ICLS improved the soil quality by 14% over PCS and 13% over crop fertilization in ICLS. Notably, this optimized system yielded the highest primary production. These findings underscore the pivotal role of system fertilization in ICLS to boost food production and enhance soil ecosystem services without increasing the consumption of external fertilizers. They advocate for a strategic shift towards system-level fertilization in integrated systems, and demonstrate for the first time in ICLS, the delicate balance between nutrient management, soil health, and sustainable productivity.

Key words: crop-livestock integration , soil functions , nutrient use efficiency , nutrient management

Vicente José Laamon Pinto Simões, Lóren Pacheco Duarte, Rafaela Dulcieli Daneluz Rintzel, Amanda Posselt Martins, Tales Tiecher, Leonardo Dallabrida Mori, Carolina Bremm, Marco Aurélio Carbone Carneiro, Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho. [J]. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(9): 3671-3688.

Vicente José Laamon Pinto Simões, Lóren Pacheco Duarte, Rafaela Dulcieli Daneluz Rintzel, Amanda Posselt Martins, Tales Tiecher, Leonardo Dallabrida Mori, Carolina Bremm, Marco Aurélio Carbone Carneiro, Paulo César de Faccio Carvalho. System fertilization improves soil quality and increases primary production in an integrated crop-livestock system[J]. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 2025, 24(9): 3671-3688.

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System fertilization improves soil quality and increases primary production in an integrated crop-livestock system

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