Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Title: Potential benefits of tannin-containing forages in crop-livestock systemsAuthor
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Submitted to: Agricultural Research Service Publication
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 7/21/2021 Publication Date: 7/22/2021 Citation: Clemensen, A.K., Halvorson, J.J., Christensen, R., Kronberg, S.L. 2021. Potential benefits of tannin-containing forages in crop-livestock systems. Agricultural Research Service Publication. 1. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Adding livestock into cropping systems may improve ecosystem services while still providing efficient food production. Including forages that produce plant secondary metabolites such as tannins into crop-livestock systems could further enhance ecosystem services. Through a variety of chemical pathways, plants produce thousands of plant secondary metabolites which they use to interact with their environment in several ways. One class of plant secondary metabolites are phenolic compounds which include tannins. Interest in tannins has increased over the past several decades, and research continues to reveal the potential benefits of tannins in agricultural systems. However, research evaluating the influence of tannin-containing forages in crop-livestock systems is limited. We discuss how tannins influence soil processes and nutrient cycling, the function of tannins in forages, and the role tannins have in improving the health of foraging animals. |
