Dry Matter Productivity and Carbon Sequestration in a Silvopastoral System and a Traditional System in Five Foothill Cattle Farms in the Department of Casanare

Abstract

The goal was to compare, in terms of dry matter productivity and carbon sequestration, a silvopastoral system with a traditional system in five foothill cattle farms in the Department of Casanare. A mixture of four species of grass was planted in the experimental plot of each farm, of which Brachiaria brizantha was the species that had a successful development in the five farms, and whose dry matter and carbon sequestration productivity was analyzed. Five months after pasture renovation in the experimental lots, a dry matter productivity between 6.3 and 14.9 tMS/ha and carbon sequestration productivity between 2.7 and 6.4 tCOT/ ha were obtained; in traditional lots, dry matter productivity was between 4 and 5 tMS/ha, while carbon sequestration productivity was between 1.7 and 2.9 tCOT/ha. At 20 months, dry matter productivity between 12 and 13.7 tMS/ha, and carbon sequestration productivity between 4.1 and 4.5 tCOT/ha were obtained in experimental lots, while in traditional lots, dry matter productivity was between 4.4 and 6.5 tMS/ha, while carbon sequestration productivity was between 1.4 and 2.1 tCOT/ha. This indicates that renewal of grasslands with suitable pastures and rotational grazing favor dry matter and carbon sequestration production.