Targeted cattle grazing as an alternative to herbicides for controlling weeds in bird-friendly oil palm plantations

dc.contributor.authorTohiran, KA
dc.contributor.authorNobilly, F
dc.contributor.authorZulkifli, R
dc.contributor.authorMaxwell, Thomas
dc.contributor.authorMoslim, R
dc.contributor.authorAzhar, B
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-28T03:31:50Z
dc.date.available2017-11-09
dc.date.issued2017-12
dc.date.submitted2017-10-26
dc.description.abstractThe use of agrochemicals is expected to increase with the global expansion of oil palm plantations. In line with environmentally sustainable palm oil certification, targeted grazing can minimize the dependency on herbicides for controlling weeds in plantations. Here, we show for the first time that targeted grazing would control weeds and improve biodiversity of desired animal species. We sampled birds at 45 oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia that were systematically grazed, non-systematically grazed, or herbicide controlled plantations without cattle grazing. We found that bird species richness increased with size of grazing area, but decreased with number of cattle. Bird abundance was higher in the systematic grazing system, but negatively related to number of cattle. These factors explained 18.41 and 25.34% of the observed variations in bird species richness and abundance, respectively. Our findings suggest that targeted cattle grazing can be instrumental for transforming conventional oil palm agriculture into more biodiversity-friendly agroecosystems. Targeted grazing is likely to be practical under field conditions in major palm oil producing countries. In addition, the use of targeted grazing as a biological control method for weeds would be welcomed by palm oil consumers and encouraged by sustainable palm oil certification bodies such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
dc.format.extent11 pages
dc.identifierhttps://www.webofscience.com/api/gateway?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=elements_prod&SrcAuth=WosAPI&KeyUT=WOS:000415007400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=WOS_CPL
dc.identifier.doi10.1007/s13593-017-0471-5
dc.identifier.eissn1773-0155
dc.identifier.issn1774-0746
dc.identifier.otherFM4RA (isidoc)
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10182/9471
dc.languageen
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSpringer Verlag with Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and Springer Paris
dc.relationThe original publication is available from Springer Verlag with Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and Springer Paris - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0471-5 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0471-5
dc.relation.isPartOfAgronomy for Sustainable Development
dc.relation.urihttps://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0471-5
dc.rights© INRA and Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature 2017
dc.subjectbiodiversity-friendly agroecosystems
dc.subjectbiological control
dc.subjectbird abundance
dc.subjectcattle grazing
dc.subjectoil palm
dc.subjectspecies richness
dc.subject.anzsrcANZSRC::0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management
dc.subject.anzsrcANZSRC::070302 Agronomy
dc.subject.anzsrc2020ANZSRC::30 Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences
dc.subject.anzsrc2020ANZSRC::41 Environmental sciences
dc.subject.anzsrc2020ANZSRC::44 Human society
dc.titleTargeted cattle grazing as an alternative to herbicides for controlling weeds in bird-friendly oil palm plantations
dc.typeJournal Article
lu.contributor.unitLU
lu.contributor.unitLU|Agriculture and Life Sciences
lu.contributor.unitLU|Agriculture and Life Sciences|AGSC
lu.contributor.unitLU|Research Management Office
lu.contributor.unitLU|Research Management Office|OLD QE18
lu.contributor.unitLU|Research Management Office|OLD PE20
lu.identifier.orcid0000-0001-9204-1667
pubs.issue6
pubs.notesArticle number: 62
pubs.publication-statusPublished
pubs.publisher-urlhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13593-017-0471-5
pubs.volume37
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