Integrated crop–livestock systems in the Brazilian subtropics

•Integrated crop–livestock systems in the Brazilian subtropics are highly diverse.•Livestock reduce the vulnerability of crops in rain-fed systems.•Crops in rotation with livestock may produce more.•Livestock improve many physical, chemical and biological attributes of soil.•Integrating crops and livestock is a unique approach to ecological intensification. In the subtropical region of Brazil, integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLSs) are characterized by the annual rotation of pastures and crops in a no-till system where the pasture component is used to produce either meat or milk. These systems focus on integration within the farm rather than between farms, being characterized by alternating cropping and pasturing in the same area. Independent of the crop rotations possible in a subtropical environment, the main integrated farming system found was rotation or succession of summer crops (Glycine max, Zea mays, Phaseolus vulgaris or Oryza sativa) with winter annual grazing grasses (mixed or solely Avena strigosa and Lolium multiflorum) or successive natural pastures. The high variability of crop yield in the Brazilian subtropics (due to climate extremes) as well as associated high costs and low prices has encouraged farmers to integrate livestock into their enterprises as a low-risk diversification option. Long-term experiments have demonstrated the benefits of crop–livestock integration with respect to many aspects of the soil–plant–animal system. There is evidence that such a system is not only a livestock–agriculture combination but also a unique system reaching a new complexity threshold, resulting in emergent properties with novel functionalities, some of which have yet to be investigated. In addition to greater environmental gains with less vulnerability, there are higher yields and more financial gain by the farmer, compared to that in the use of monocultures or non-integrated livestock farming. We conclude that ICLSs in Subtropical Brazil provide the opportunity for intensification with sustainability.