2026-10-09T21:35:48Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34021518 2026-09-29T05:53:42Z category_573 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Supplementary file 1_Reframing beef production in the Pampa biome: a life cycle assessment of environmental sustainability.pdf Eduarda Funari Machado (25135638) Adriane Terezinha Schneider (25135641) Richard Luan Silva Machado (25135644) Darissa Alves Dutra (25135647) Mariany Costa Deprá (25135653) Leila Queiroz Zepka (2351443) Eduardo Jacob-Lopes (5996837) Food Engineering bovine meat production environmental sustainability life cycle assessment production systems South American Pampa sustainable intensification <p>Beef production is central to global food systems, contributing to food security, rural economies, and the supply of animal protein. However, beef production is associated with considerable environmental impacts, mainly related to greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and alterations in nutrient cycles. The Pampa biome, spanning regions of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, produces nearly one-twentieth of the world’s beef. Across its grasslands, diverse beef production systems coexist, varying in intensification, feed management, and input use, which can substantially affect environmental performance. In this context, this study aimed to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of different beef production systems in the Pampa biome using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The functional unit adopted was 1 kg of chilled beef, considering 13 production scenarios distributed among the three countries, including extensive, semi-intensive systems based on sown pastures and grains, and intensive and integrated production systems. The following environmental impact categories were assessed: global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), land use (LU), water use (WU), and energy use (EU). In addition, an exploratory carbon-balance indicator was estimated by comparing system emissions with literature-based estimates of gross vegetation CO₂ uptake during the production period. The results showed a variation among the systems evaluated. GWP ranged from 32.59 to 52.93 kg CO₂eq kg^-1 of beef, with lower values ​​in semi-intensive systems based on sown pastures and higher values ​​in semi-intensive grain-based and extensive systems. Systems with higher application of agricultural inputs demonstrated greater impacts of AP and EP, while LU varied according to productivity and the land requirements associated with each system. Several scenarios showed negative values for the exploratory carbon-balance indicator due to estimated gross vegetation CO₂ uptake, without implying permanent carbon sequestration. In summary, the results reinforce that the sustainability of beef production in the Pampa biome depends on balancing productivity, resource and input use, and environmental trade-offs across different production strategies. These findings provide evidence on the environmental trade-offs associated with contrasting beef production systems in the Pampa biome and may contribute to future discussions on environmental performance assessment and sustainability evaluation in beef production.</p> 2026-09-29T05:53:42Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/frfst.2026.1840100.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_file_1_Reframing_beef_production_in_the_Pampa_biome_a_life_cycle_assessment_of_environmental_sustainability_pdf/34021518 CC BY 4.0