Spatiotemporal variations on infrared temperature as a thermal comfort indicator for cattle under agroforestry systems.

With the expanding use of thermal assessment techniques in beef cattle, infrared thermography has become a promising tool for assessing the environment for animal thermal comfort. Goals of this study were: (1) to evaluate cattle thermal comfort in agroforestry systems with different shade availability (2) to verify the spatiotemporal variations of infrared temperature inside agroforestry systems, and; (3) to test infrared thermography as a potential tool to assess animal thermal comfort indices in agroforestry systems. A trial was carried out between June 2015 and February 2016, covering Central-Brazil's dry winter and rainy summer seasons, respectively.

Infrared thermography for microclimate assessment in agroforestry systems.

In agroforestry systems, trees modify climatic parameters over a given area and create a complex microclimate through interactions between topography, plant composition and organizational structure of trees. In this way, indicators such as surface temperature of tree canopy and pasture, monitored by infrared thermography, are important to monitor the thermal environment of animal production and pasture establishment. Goals of this study were (1) to evaluate temporal and local variations of temperature and humidity leaf surface of tree canopy and pasture in agroforestry systems by infrared remote sensing and, (2) to validate infrared thermography as a potential tool for assessment microclimate in agroforestry systems.

Shading effect on microclimate and thermal comfort indexes in integrated crop-livestock-forest systems in the Brazilian Midwest.

The objective of this paper was to perform a microclimate evaluation and determine the indexes of thermal comfort indexes, in sun and shade, in integrated crop-livestock-forest systems with different arrangements of eucalyptus and native trees, in the Brazilian Midwest. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Beef Cattle in Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, from July to September 2013. The evaluations were conducted on four consecutive days, from 8:00 a.