Nutritional Characteristics and Digestibility of Woody and Herbaceous Native Plants from Tropical Flooded Savannas Ecosystems

Mauricio Vélez-Terranova (), Arcesio Salamanca-Carreño, Andrés Mauricio Bejarano-Sánchez, Daniela Alexandra González-Castro, Rubén Darío Higuera-Pedraza and Luis Alfonso Giraldo
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Mauricio Vélez-Terranova: Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Palmira 763533, Colombia
Arcesio Salamanca-Carreño: Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Villavicencio 500001, Colombia
Andrés Mauricio Bejarano-Sánchez: Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
Daniela Alexandra González-Castro: Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
Rubén Darío Higuera-Pedraza: Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá 111321, Colombia
Luis Alfonso Giraldo: Laboratorio de Biotecnología Ruminal, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín 050034, Colombia

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Native plants constitute an enormous source of nutrients for grazing animals, although their use has been limited due to the lack of knowledge about its properties. The aim of this research was to evaluate the nutritional characteristics of native plants from flooded savannas ecosystem. Seven transects (290 km) were carried out through the montane forests, gallery forests and open savannah ecosystems. A total of 42 plant species were collected (22 arboreal, 13 shrubs, 5 climbing and 2 herb plants) and their nutritional composition and digestibility were evaluated. Data analysis included univariate and multivariate methods. Nutritional composition and digestibility varied among the groups of arboreal, shrub, climbing and herb species. At an individual level plants such as G. americana , C. cf minor-grandiflora and M. nobilis , A.Jahnii , P. hispidium , I. carnea , S. reticulate , H. furcellatus, and C. erosa stood out by their protein, ash, and digestibility. At a group level, a mixed of 19 plants presented the highest digestibility, and the lowest fiber fraction constituted a promising forage alternative. Data variability was explained in the 47% by protein, ash, digestibility, and the different fiber fractions variables. Further studies related with the animal acceptability, performance and the presence of secondary metabolites are needed before being fully recommended.

Keywords: native vegetation; nutritional alternatives; tropical flooded savannas; livestock sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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