Silvopastoral systems: an alternative for sustainable cattle ranching

Abstract

Food production increasingly demands the use of a greater amount of resources, which constitutes a challenge for researchers and institutions related to the agricultural sector. This leads to changes in production processes by intensifying production areas without overexploiting natural resources. The present work aims to assess the importance of Silvopastoral systems as an alternative in livestock systems, facing the agroecological transition. For this, a review of literature related to the negative effect of livestock on the environment, animal production, silvopastoral systems, forage plants and agroecological livestock of the last ten years was carried out, where current trends are defined in the context of efficiency in the application of sustainable criteria. It is concluded that the application of sustainable production strategies conserves biological diversity and preserves natural resources, likewise the implementation of Silvopastoral systems in livestock reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the productivity and efficiency of the system, becoming an option for the producer.