Scientific study reveals that livestock farming has a positive carbon impact

Research conducted in the Cerrado showed that brachiaria under grazing sequesters more carbon than the native vegetation of the biome and also more than an empty pasture. The producer Piotre Laginski opened 70 ha of his farm in Baixa Grande do Ribeiro (PI) for an unprecedented study on carbon sequestration, which aimed to demonstrate that cattle, contrary to common sense, can contribute to positive carbon in the soil. According to the measurements, the pasture subjected to grazing sequestered 168 t of CO2eq/ha, surpassing both the single grass (148.85 t/ha), and the native vegetation (134 t/ha), considering analyses of organic matter up to 60 cm in depth. The difference is significant: the pasture with animals captured 34 t/ha more of CO2eq than the virgin Cerrado and was 2.3 times higher than the advantage of the single pasture, which registered 14.95 t/ha more. For Piotre, this dismantles the negative image of the activity. "From villain, the cattle turned into the icing on the ...