Mixed crop–livestock long-term experiments (LTE) are critical to increase the understanding of sustainability in complex agroecosystems. One example is the ‘Palo a Pique’ LTE which has been running for 25 years in Uruguay (from 1995 to present), evaluating four pasture–crop rotations under livestock grazing with no-till technology in soils with severe limitations. The results demonstrate that cropping systems reduced soil organic carbon (SOC) compared with permanent pastures, and that perennial pastures rotating with crops were critical to mitigate SOC losses. Data from the ‘Palo a Pique’ LTE has contributed to the establishment of new national policies to secure the sustainability of agricultural-based systems. Although the original purpose of the LTE was oriented to crops and soils, a demand for sustainable livestock intensification has gathered momentum over recent years. As a result, the current approach of the ‘Palo a Pique’ LTE matches each pasture–crop rotation with the most suitable livestock strategy with the common goal of producing 400 kg liveweight/ha per year. General approaches to the pursuit of sustainable livestock intensification include shortening the cycle of production, diversifying animal categories, increasing liveweight gain and final animal liveweight, and strategic livestock supplementation. Prediction of trade-offs between environmental, economic, and production indicators can be addressed through monitoring and modeling, enabling the timely anticipation of adverse sustainability issues on commercial farms. The ‘Palo a Pique’ LTE serves as a framework to address contemporary and future questions dealing with the role of ruminants on climate change, competition for land, nutrient dynamics, and food security.

中文翻译：

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“ Palo a Pique”长期研究平台：乌拉圭作物-牲畜试验的前25年

作物－畜牧业长期混合实验（LTE）对于增进对复杂农业生态系统可持续性的理解至关重要。一个例子是“ Palo a Pique” LTE，它在乌拉圭已经运行了25年（从1995年至今），评估了在有严重限制的土壤中使用免耕技术在牲畜放牧条件下的四种牧场－作物轮作。结果表明，与永久性牧场相比，耕作制度减少了土壤有机碳（SOC），并且随着作物轮作的多年生牧场对于减轻SOC的损失至关重要。来自“ Palo a Pique” LTE的数据有助于建立新的国家政策，以确保农业系统的可持续性。尽管LTE的最初目的是针对农作物和土壤，近年来，对可持续畜牧集约化的需求不断增长。结果，“ Palo a Pique” LTE的当前方法将每种牧场－作物轮换与最合适的牲畜策略相匹配，其共同目标是每年生产400公斤活重/公顷。追求可持续畜牧集约化的一般方法包括缩短生产周期，使动物种类多样化，增加活重和最终动物活重，以及战略性补充牲畜。可以通过监视和建模来解决环境，经济和生产指标之间的折衷预测，从而可以及时预期商业农场的不利可持续性问题。