Agroforestry system for mitigation and adaptation to climate change: Effects on animal welfare and productivity

Climate change alters the thermal environment of animals, affecting animal health, reproduction, and the feed conversion efficiency. Environmental stress and, more specifically, thermal stress directly affect productivity and health of livestock resulting in significant economic losses. Agroforestry is a land-use strategy to cope with climate change and provide environmental, economic, and social benefits. Agroforestry system may contribute to alleviate the effects of heat stress, by providing thermal comfort to the animals. Specific studies, in fact, demonstrated that the presence of trees and their arrangement in the agroforestry systems provide better microclimate conditions and animal thermal comfort in pastures. However, large part of the information about the effect of agroforestry systems on livestock production is related to tropical and subtropical environment, whereas data from temperate zone are still scarce. In 2017, a multidisciplinary research team has been established to evaluate the transition of a conventional specialized system towards agroforestry in Tuscany. Preliminary data about the effect of agroforestry systems on livestock production are presented and discussed.