Native Herbivores and Livestock: Impacts on Soil Carbon and Climate

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Livestock, antibiotics, microbes, soil quality, carbon, and climate change are more linked than most people think. Antibiotics used in cattle treatment influence soil microbes through fertilizers and can destabilize soil carbon, reducing resilience to climate change.

The warning came from authors of a scientific study conducted in India. Alongside the warning, the researchers suggested fixes through natural climate solutions, including the conservation of native herbivores and alternative livestock management.

“Grazing by large herbivores affects climate because it can support the size and stability of a large carbon sink in the soils of ecosystems” is the study’s opening line, led by researchers at the Ecological Sciences Center of the Indian Institute of Science.

“As herbivores native to the world’s grasslands, steppes, and savannas are increasingly displaced by cattle, it is essential to ask whether cattle can mimic the functional roles of their native counterparts.” This question sparked the investigation.

cattle herd in india. pixabay

Additionally, scientists examined how veterinary antibiotic traces and other factors affect soil carbon quality and quantity, including dead plant matter, microbial biomass, and the composition of microbial communities.

The study notes that cattle are often treated with antibiotics such as tetracycline, while veterinary care for domestic herbivores is markedly limited.

Native herbivores, healthy soils

The researchers’ conclusion was clear: although cattle and native herbivores share many traits, their effects on carbon retention in soil differ due to vegetation and microbial dynamics.

They tested competing hypotheses across landscapes with and without grazing. The results showed substantial differences in how livestock and native herbivores influence soil microbial processes and overall soil health.

In lands grazed by cattle, tetracycline residues were nearly three times higher than in lands inhabited by native herbivores. When grazing was excluded, antibiotic residues largely disappeared.

Microbial carbon utilization efficiency was 19% lower on livestock lands. Compared with native herbivores, plant communities in livestock- grazing areas showed greater degradation.

An image of a yak with cattle in the background. pixabay

In the Indian region where the study was conducted, native herbivores such as the yak (bovid), blue goat (baral), kiang (wild donkey), and mountain goat are healthier for land systems than cattle, which include goats, sheep, and horses in broader terms.

The presence of cattle correlated with reduced carbon sequestration because vegetation and soil microbes were less effective at storing carbon, increasing greenhouse gas availability in the atmosphere and diminishing climate resilience.

Beyond plant impacts, cattle also altered microbial communities responsible for soil carbon storage, reducing the soil’s capacity to hold carbon.

Unwanted results

The twelve-year Global Change Biology study linked veterinary antibiotic use in cattle to declines in soil quality, vegetation, and microbial diversity.

To address the climate implications, the authors suggest reconciling food security with ecosystem services by reconstrucing soil microbial communities and minimizing antibiotic impacts on the environment. [Citation: Global Change Biology, twelve-year study]

Conserving native herbivores and adopting alternative livestock management are presented as crucial steps for maintaining soil carbon stores and pursuing natural climate solutions.

The use of hydrogen sulfide fertilizer in an agricultural field. pixabay

The FAO emphasizes that conserving organic carbon in soil helps balance greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, land degradation, and global hunger. Yet researchers warn of other undesirable consequences caused by cattle, including accelerated antibiotic resistance—an observed global trend noted by the study authors.

While livestock antibiotic abuse is a serious issue, other factors also contribute to soil carbon depletion, including irrigation, chemical fertilizer use, heat, and varying precipitation patterns tied to climate change. [Citation: Global Change Biology, 12-year study]

For further reading, the original report appears in Global Change Biology. [Citation: Global Change Biology, 12-year study]

End note: this article refrains from providing direct contact details or external links, focusing instead on the scientific findings and their broader implications. [Citation: Global Change Biology, twelve-year study]

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