03869naa a2200433 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006002400280007410000160010224501800011826000090029850010790030752014180138665300400280465300630284465300290290765300250293665300200296165300170298165300140299865300190301265300110303165300230304265300250306565300410309070000190313170000140315070000160316470000150318070000170319570000170321270000200322970000180324970000160326770000170328370000160330077301190331610649122024-11-21       2024    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d  a2071-10507 a10.3390/su162091352DOI1 aALECRIM, F.  aAddition of tannin-containing legumes to native grasslandsbeffects on enteric methane emissions, nitrogen losses and animal performance of beef cattle.h[electronic resource]  c2024  aArticle history: Submission received 19 August 2024, Revised 8 October 2024, Accepted 17 October 2024, Published 21 October 2024. -- Correspondence: Ciganda, V.S.; Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Montevideo, Uruguay; email:vciganda@inia.org.uy  --  Academic editors: George P. Laliotis, Vassilios Dotas. -- Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). -- Funding:  This study has been prepared with the financial support provided by INIA (Projects SA_36, PA_20 and CL_054), FONTAGRO, the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, PROCISUR and CAPES. -- This article belongs to the Special Issue Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock for Sustainable Agriculture (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/7BMYU96ZBF  ). -- Supplementary materials: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/su16209135/s1  -- License: This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  ).  aABSTRACT.- Extensive cattle production on native grasslands is vital to the sustainability of the South American Pampas, and the inclusion of tannin-containing legumes can increase farm profitability, improve nitrogen (N) use and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study quantified the effects of adding tannin-containing legumes to native grasslands on enteric methane (CH4) emissions, animal performance and N balance in cattle. A crossover design trial was conducted with 22 beef heifers under two treatments: native grassland (NG) and native grassland with the addition of Lotus uliginosus and L. angustissimus (NG+L). The results showed that forage mass disappearance was similar between treatments; however, 54% of the forage disappearance in the NG+L corresponded with legumes, indicating that the heifers in this treatment consumed a better-quality diet. While individual CH4 emissions were similar between treatments, heifers grazing the NG+L showed a higher average daily gain (ADG) and lower emissions intensity than heifers grazing NGs (0.25 vs. 0.58 g CH4/g ADG, p < 0.05). Additionally, they also ingested 20% more N and were more efficient in its utilization. Incorporating tannin-containing legumes into native grasslands can improve animal productivity and N use efficiency while reducing the intensity of enteric CH4 emissions. © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.  aÁREA DE PASTURAS Y FORRAJES - INIA  aÁREA DE RECURSOS NATURALES, PRODUCCIÓN Y AMBIENTE - INIA  aClimate action - Goal 13  aEmissions mitigation  aEnteric methane  aGRASS FORAGE  aGRASSLAND  aGreenhouse gas  aLegume  aNitrogen excretion  aSF6 tracer technique  aSustainable Development Goals (SDGs)1 aDEVINCENZI, T.1 aREYNO, R.1 aMEDEROS, A.1 aSIMÓN, C.1 aMARIOTTA, J.1 aLATTANZI, F.1 aNÓBREGA, G. N.1 aSANTANDER, D.1 aGERE, J. I.1 aIRIGOYEN, L.1 aCIGANDA, V.  tSustainability (Switzerland), 2024, Volume 16, Issue 20, 9135. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16209135  -- OPEN ACCESS.