Potential of legume-based grassland-livestock systems in Europe

• Main Authors: Lüscher, Andreas, Mueller-Harvey, Irene, Soussana, Jean-François, Rees, R. M., Peyraud, Jean-Louis
• Other Authors: Agroscope, University of Reading (UOR), Collège de Direction (CODIR), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), UR 0874 Unité de recherche sur l'Ecosystème Prairial, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Unité de recherche sur l'Ecosystème Prairial (UREP)-Ecologie des Forêts, Prairies et milieux Aquatiques (EFPA), Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), Physiologie, Environnement et Génétique pour l'Animal et les Systèmes d'Elevage Rennes (PEGASE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), European Project: 266018,EC:FP7:KBBE,FP7-KBBE-2010-4,ANIMALCHANGE(2011)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2013
• Subjects: [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Akureyri; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01210591; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01210591/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01210591/file/13Luscher3_1.pdf

Opening session European grassland-based livestock production systems are challenged to produce more milk and meat to meet increasing world demand and to achieve this by using fewer resources. Legumes offer great potential for coping with such requests. They have numerous features that can act together at different stages in the soil-plant-animal-atmosphere system and these are most effective in mixed swards with a legume abundance of 30-50%. The resulting benefits are a reduced dependency on fossil energy and industrial N fertilizer, lower quantities of harmful emissions to the environment (greenhouse gases and nitrate), lower production costs, higher productivity and increased protein self-sufficiency. Some legume species offer opportunities for improving animal health with less medication due to bioactive secondary metabolites. In addition, legumes may offer an option for adapting to higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations and to climate change. Legumes generate these benefits at the level of themanaged land area unit and also at the level of the final product unit. However, legumes suffer from some limitations, and suggestions are made for future research in order to exploit more fully the opportunities that legumes can offer. In conclusion, the development of legume-based grassland-livestock systems undoubtedly constitutes one of the pillars for more sustainable and competitive ruminant production systems, and it can only be expected that legumes will become more important in the future.