The neglected contribution of mound-building termites on CH4 emissions in Brazilian pastures

Based on previous reports, our study aimed to obtain the first estimate on the contribution of termite mounds to CH4 emissions in Brazilian Cerrado pastures. We estimated that termite mounds occupy an area larger than 200,000 ha in degraded pastures, an important loss of grazing area considering the...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Oliveira, Dener Márcio da Silva, Araújo, Eloá Moura, Frade Junior, Elizio Ferreira, Pimentel, Laisa Gouveia, Cerri, Carlos Eduardo Pellegrino
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV)
Repositorio:LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:locus.ufv.br:123456789/30333
Acceso en línea:https://locus.ufv.br//handle/123456789/30333
https://doi.org/10.37496/rbz5020200185
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:biogenic CH4
Brazilian Cerrado
greenhouse gases
pasture degradation
Descripción
Sumario:Based on previous reports, our study aimed to obtain the first estimate on the contribution of termite mounds to CH4 emissions in Brazilian Cerrado pastures. We estimated that termite mounds occupy an area larger than 200,000 ha in degraded pastures, an important loss of grazing area considering the current scenario of land-use change of pastures to other crops in Brazil. Moreover, mound-building termites in degraded pastures may be responsible for CH4 emissions greater than 11 Mt CO2 eq. yr−1, which would notably affect the greenhouse gases (GHG) balance of grass-fed cattle production in Brazil. In this sense, it is urgent to conduct field-scale studies about the CH4 emissions by mound-building termites in pastures and its contribution to the C footprint of Brazilian beef