Arbopasto

Pasture afforestation is an agricultural practice that involves the integration of tree species (trees or palms) in the livestock sector, either through planting of seedlings or with the maintenance of species that regenerate naturally in pasture, aiming the implantation of silvopastoral systems (Livestock integration -Floresta) or agrosilvipastoris (crop-livestock-forest integration). In these systems, trees can contribute to timber products (sawing wood, lamination, paper and cellulose, firewood, coal and palanques for fence and other rural constructions) and non-timber (fruits for human and animal food, latex, resins, oils , etc.) and also with a multitude of services (shade and shelter for livestock, live fences, biological nitrogen fixation, carbon sequestration, erosion control, among others).

The Arbopasto is an application to assist in the planning of the introduction of the arboreal component in pasture area. The application provides information on 51 species of trees native to the Brazilian Western Amazon. These trees were evaluated in pastures located in the states of Acre and Rondônia considering 15 important characteristics for afforestation of pastures, being: seedlings production, commercial value of wood, non-wood products, biological nitrogen fixation, growth rate, forage potential (accidental) in pasture, presence of superficial roots under the canopy, interference in soil cover under the canopy, natural regeneration capacity in pastures, stem quality, tree size, shape and crown density.

In Arbopasto, the trees are presented in alphabetical order, however it is possible to search by the common or scientific name of the species. Each tree species is presented along with its "general information" about family, subfamily, scientific name and botanical synonymy, other common names and natural occurrence. In addition, it is possible to find the "datasheet" of the evaluated tree for the 15 most important characteristics for afforestation of pastures and a gallery of photos that can aid in the identification of the species in the field. The application provides a filter for the main characteristics of trees where it is possible to search for a single characteristic or for a combination. For example, if you want to know which trees are nitrogen fixers and have fast growth rates, simply select these features and the application will list the species that present these two characteristics together. On the other hand, if the user wants to know what species are in the shape of a palm tree, just select this option and the application provides the list of species with this characteristic.

The Arbopasto application was developed by Embrapa, through the Acre, Rondônia and Gado de Corte units, in partnership with the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS) and financial support from Banco da Amazônia.